At the Meet the Press Series in Accra, it’s emerged the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) will institutionalise an Annual Procurement Forum.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO); Mr. Agyenim Boateng Adjei made the disclosure on Tuesday, when he took his turn at the press encounter mentioning that the Annual Procurement Forum would provide a unique opportunity for policy makers, academia, public sector organisations, corporate bodies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to come together to discuss emerging trends in the supply chain management discipline that would encourage development in the West-African Region.
“It shall have a comprehensive programme for Supply Chain and Procurement professionals and provide a networking opportunity. The Learning Labs and customised Knowledge Hubs to be run on the exhibition floor shall provide maximum benefit for delegates,” the CEO said.
He said the Public Procurement Act required the PPA to organise an annual Public Forum for consultations on procurement and other related issues and was partnering Commerce Edge (CE) to deliver an Annual Procurement and Enterprise Development Summit for the first time in West Africa from October 30 –November 1, 2019 in Accra.
On challenges facing the Authority, Mr. Adjei cited lack of funding for programmes and activities and the delays experienced with fund releases even where prior approval for the Government funds had been secured. He said the GoG’s allocation to the Authority to carry out its regulatory functions had been grossly inadequate over the years.
“Indeed, it is quiet worrying that, a regulatory body with a mandate to protect the public purse through effective monitoring of the various procurement processes and procedures to ensure compliance and attainment of Value for Money could be established without a corresponding statutory fund allocation for its operations,” Mr Adjei said.
It also emerged procurement malpractices which the authority uncovered and sealed saved the state GHc1.9 billion noting bid tender suppression, collusion, complementary bidding and bid tender rotation were all uncovered.
The saved sum followed investigations carried out within twenty-one months, between April 2017 and December 2018.
As the way forward, a Special Procurement Investigation Unit has been set up by the PPA to conduct random investigations into the procurement activities of entities.
On single sourcing issues, Mr. Adjei stated in 2017 of the 420 applications received only 236 were approved and 184 rejected while in 2018, of the 511 single sourcing applications received, 409 were approved and 102 rejected.
Mr. Adjei also announced the running of the e-Government Procurement System, known as GHANEPS with five procurement entities; namely, the Ghana Health Service, Department of Feeder Roads, Koforidua Technical University, COCOBOD, and Tema Municipal Assembly participating in its pilot scheme.
By Michael Eli Dokosi/goldstreetbusiness.com
