Mr Henry Kerali, the Country Director of the World Bank, says, Ghana will save more than US$100 million, an equivalent of two per cent of the country’s gross domestic product annually, for implementing the e-Procurement System.
He said the e-Procurement System was a landmark project that would improve fairness, transparency and efficiency in the public sector and reduce the cost of transaction for service providers.
The World Bank signed a US$97 million financing agreement with the government of Ghana in 2014 towards the implementation of the e-Transform Procurement Project.
Mr Kerali said this in an address at the launch of the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS) in Accra on the theme: “Rising to a New Dawn in Public Procurement”.
Mr Kerali noted that e-Procurement System would enhance productivity since electronic presentation of records or submission of tenders would eliminate manual work and reduce cost.
The World Bank Country Director urged all public agencies to take advantage of the system to transform their operations, which would inure to the benefit of the people.
Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister of Communications, for her part, said the e-Procurement system would ensure transparency and reduce corruption in the country.
“Online government procurement increases transparency and hold government more accountable in spending the taxpayers’ money in addition to the reduction of potential fraud and corruption,” she emphasised.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said the electronic platform would provide prospective suppliers with full information concerning government contracts and vis-à-vis government institutions would receive adequate information about potential suppliers or contractors.
She was said the platform would play a critical role in reducing prices of contracts and government expenditure.
“We will like to see the Electronic Government Project contributing to achieving major efficiency in the reduction of prices by at least 10 to 20 per cent due to increase competitiveness, reduction in transaction cost by about 50 percent and a reduction of about 20 to 30 per cent of public expenditures,” the Minister said.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the Ministry was working with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to champion the digitisation agenda in order to catch up with the world, adding that her outfit was working with the Ghana Immigration Service to roll-out an e-immigration system for border control, visa on arrival and other immigration services.
