Presidency investigations into Big Push sole-sourcing: Did Valerie Sawyerr Committee deliberately put out false information to clear Ministry or it was misled?

In March 2026, when The Fourth Estate revealed how the Ministry of Roads and Highways had literally become a factory for sole-sourcing under the government’s Big Push initiative, it also exposed how contracts had also been awarded to companies with questionable capacity and experience.

One of the companies that was cited as not having demonstrable experience and capacity and yet was awarded a major contract under the Big Push initiative is a company called GROWTH 82 Global Ltd. The Fourth Estate’s probing revealed that the company was less than one year old at the time it was awarded a major, multi-million-cedi contract for the construction of the Dodo Pepeso-Nkwanta road. 

The Fourth Estate further revealed that at the time GROWTH 82 Global Ltd was awarded the major contract worth GHS 683 million, the company did not have the required classification to qualify for such a contract.

Following our publication, President John Mahama set up a committee led by his Senior Presidential Advisor, Dr Valerie Esther Sawyerr, to investigate the concerns raised in the report, including the issues about GROWTH82 Global Ltd.

The Valerie Sawyerr Committee subsequently released a 72-page report containing its findings and recommendations.

The Fourth Estate has, however, established that the President’s Committee fell short in conducting the expected investigations. It essentially treated issues raised by The Fourth Estate as allegations and responses from the Ministry of Roads as facts. The report is thus laden with falsehood and misleading findings.

On the specific issue of when GROWTH 82 Global Ltd was registered, the Valerie Sawyerr report said: “Evidence shows that the company Growth 82 Global Limited was registered on August 18, 2020.” 

On the issue of the capacity and classification of the company by the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the Committee said: “Evidence shows that the company Growth 82 Global Limited was registered on August 18, 2020; received A3B3 certificate on September 6, 2024; received A2B2 certificate on March 19, 2025; and received A1B1 certificate on August 14, 2025.”

Where and how the President’s Committee obtained the evidence to draw the conclusions above remain a wonder. This is because official records expose what the Valerie Sawyer Committee put out as evidence to be completely false.

The Fourth Estate applied for and received an official report from the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) on the incorporation and ownership of GROWTH 82 Global Limited.

According to the ORC, the company was indeed registered on January 21, 2025, which is exactly two weeks after the current NDC government was sworn into power.

So the question is, where did the Valerie Sawyerr Committee get the August 18, 2020, company registration date from?

The classification data presented by the Committee also raises the question of how a company that was incorporated in January 2025 could have obtained the Ministry of Roads’ classification in 2024, as claimed by the Valerie Sawyerr Committee.

Experts at the Roads Ministry have also confirmed that it is highly unusual for a road construction company to move from an A3B3 certificate on September 6, 2024, to A2B2 in March 2025; and then to A1B1 by August 2025. 

“For a company to graduate from one class to the other, it must demonstrate experience and track record of other works. They should tell the people of Ghana which projects were delivered by Growth 82 Global Limited to justify any such quick upward classifications,” a source familiar with the classification system at the Roads Ministry told The Fourth Estate. 

The ministry states on its website that, among others, for a company to be upgraded to A1B1, it must demonstrate proof of major road and related civil engineering contracts executed in the last five years.

The eligibility for A1B1 classification was further affirmed by the President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), Ludwig Annang Hesse, in an interview with The Fourth Estate. He explained that the classification process takes time, especially when a company is new. 

Mr. Hesse indicated that a company classified as A1B1 must satisfy the specified guidelines, which include producing audited financial statements over three years and GRA certification, demonstrating five years of experience in handling major projects, with about 55 experienced personnel and the right equipment.

How then did GROWTH 82 Global Limited receive A1B1 classification in August 2026, when it was just seven months old? And what kind of investigations were done by the Valerie Sawyerr Committee?

Indeed, as at March 2026, when The Fourth Estate published its investigative findings on the Big Push initiative, the latest classification report published by the ministry on its website was dated February 3, 2026. In that report, GROWTH 82 Global Ltd was classified as A2B2M2.

Who owns GROWTH 82 Global Ltd?

According to records from the ORC, the company is owned by one Benjamin-Diaz Adann, who holds 70% of the shares. The remaining shares are owned by one Zaid Imam.

Further checks revealed that Benjamin-Diaz Adann is the founder and CEO of ADB Ghana Medicals Limited, a company awarded contracts by the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (Mahama Cares) for the restoration of the Catheterisation Lab at the National Cardiothoracic Centre at Korle Bu. It also has another contract for works at the Cardiothoracic Centre at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, in Kumasi, through Mahama Cares.

Other issues on the capacities of companies awarded the Big Push contracts

The Fourth Estate had also revealed that there were companies whose official records in the contract signed indicated they had few workers.

In the case of Build Managers Ltd, awarded one of the contracts under Big Push, the contract documents indicated it had one worker. Despite evidence within the signed contract, the Valerie Sawyerr Committee indicated the company had 20 staff as at January 2025.

Below is the SSNIT clearance certificate within the signed contract.

We also indicated that the SSNIT clearance certificate of Sanam Ghana Ltd showed it had four workers. Again, despite clear evidence in the signed contract document, the Valerie Sawyerr committee said it had 25 staff members.

Below is the SSNIT clearance certificate as it is contained in the signed contract.

These and more issues raise questions about where the Valerie Sawyerr Committee got their figures and whether the committee deliberately put out false information or it was misled.