I don’t have a ministry – Adwoa Safo tells Parliament

The Minister in charge of Public Procurement Sarah Adwoa Safo has stated categorically that her office only exist to advice the President on procurement and not to involve in procurement processes of ministries.

“I am the Minister of State, I don’t have a ministry”, she emphasized.

Providing clarity on her office she said the minister responsible for Public Procurement exists to advise the President on procurement policies and strategies only, but not to take part in the procurement processes of the various ministries.

On the floor of Parliament Wednesday March 14, the minister said her office received notice of a question from the house demanding the procurement method used by MASLOC in awarding a GHS28.8 million contract to Dextro Impex to supply 1,800 vehicles.

She however noted that Public Procurement Authority (PPA) is the regulatory body charged with the mandate of granting procurement approvals and ensuring compliance with all relevant procurement rules and processes. This she said is per the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) and (Act 914) as amended which defines minister “as the minister responsible for finance”.

She thus argued per the Standing Orders of parliament, Order 62, that all questions ought to be directed to the Ministry of Finance. Ms Adjoa Sarfo advised accordingly that her office does not have locus in the House in respect of the subject matter to answer such questions.

The Speaker of Parliament Aaron Mike Oquaye agreed to the minister’s explanation and directed the Clerk of Parliament to ensure that the question is redirected to the appropriate ministry in the subsequent sitting.