Local Firms Shy Away From Govt Procurement Processes (Page 33)

Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah (March 26, 2008)
THE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Mr Agyenim Boateng Adjei, has said that in spite of the existing potential for developing local industries through public procurement, many local firms do not participate in the exercise.
Mr Adjei has identified a reason for the low patronage of local firms as inadequate capacity to participate in tenders, particularly when the values are big.
Other reasons he identifies are the slow government payment system, the real or imaginary feelings among contractors that corruption plays a part in the award of contracts and the lack of capacity on the part of the firms to raise credit, bid bonds and securities from local banks and insurance companies considering the high interest rates.
Addressing a two-day media sensitisation workshop on the budgetary process in Accra, Mr Adjei said the policies and procedures applied under the Public Procurement Act of 2003 (Act 663) ensured that state resources were applied judiciously and that the processes were carried out in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner.
“Compliance with the act, therefore, ensures integrity in the processes”, he stressed.
He mentioned those who qualify to participate in such procurement exercises as consultants, contractors, architects and engineers.
He encouraged the local firms to endeavour to take centre stage in the process, explaining that the government’s overall procurement policy was centred on buying the products it needed under fair and open competitive tendering processes, guarding against corruption and achieving value for money.
Touching on the importance of public procurement in Ghana, Mr Adjei said further that the exercise represented between 50 and 80 per cent of the national budget and about 14 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.
“Ghana’s total public procurement expenditure for 2005 was over GH¢1.4 billion and GH¢1.78 billion for 2006”, he pointed out.
Mr Adjei said since its inception, the PPA had developed regulations and manuals, a website, web-based procurement planning software, public procurement module of excellence tool, skills and guidelines on margin of preference.
Other achievements include skills and training needs assessment and professionalism, setting up the appeals and complaints panel, developing procedures for sole sourcing and selective tendering, publicity and publication of the procurement bulletin as well as the establishment of database of service providers.
Other speakers on various topics included the Chief Economic Planning Officer of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Awua Peasah; the Minority Leader and the Member of Parliament for Nadowli, Mr Alban Bagbin; a representative of the Centre for Economic Policy Analysis (CEPA), Dr Samuel Ashong; an economist at the World Bank Ghana office, Mr Daniel Boakye; a lecturer at the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Mr Gilbert Tietaah and the Principal of the National Banking College, Mr Philip Buabeng.
The workshop which was jointly organised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the World Bank and KAB Governance Consult, was on the theme, “Strengthening Public Accountability Through Improved Media Understanding of the Budgetary Process”.