PPA Saves Ghana 1.9 Billion in 21 Months

The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) has saved the country $1.9 billion through procurement due diligence between April 2017 to December 2018.

The savings were as a result of purpose-driven initiatives introduced to enhance value addition to the operations of the Authority, the Chief Executive Officer, Agyenim Boateng Adjei, has said.

Speaking Tuesday at the Meet-the-Press series in Accra, he said the Authority saved the country this huge sum due to the establishment of the Due Diligence/Value of Money Unit at the PPA.

"This initiative has contributed significantly to enhance credibility in our operations leading to the ultimate realization of significant savings for the country," he said.

He added that the PPA has established a Special Procurement Investigation Unit to conduct random investigations into the procurement activities of entities.

He said anomalies uncovered in the investigations conducted so far are bid/tender rigging, bid/ tender suppression, complementary bidding/tendering, bid/tender rotation, customer/market allocation and low balling.

According to Mr. Adjei, the PPA has rolled out a comprehensive training programme on contract administration aimed at equipping staff of Ministries, Department, and Agencies with skills to ensure that contracts they sign are properly implemented with very little or no variations.

He said in fulfillment of Goals 5 and 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which seek to attain gender equality and sustainable production and consumption, particular products, services, and works would be set aside for marginalized groups in society, in order to promote socially sustainable procurement and development in the country.

Mr. Adjei also highlighted a number of challenges facing the Authority.

He cited the lack of funding for its programmes and activities, which he said has resulted in delays in its programme implementation and the performance of critical regulatory functions.

"Indeed, it is quite 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," he said.

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