Get involved with public procurement, AGI told

Accra, Nov 1, GNA - Mr Adjenim-Boateng Adjei, Chief Executive Officer, Public Procurement Authority on Thursday appealed to the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) to participate in public procurement processes since it had potentials for developing the local industries.

He said it was unfortunate that despite the potential of the public procurement for developing local firms especially the small and medium enterprises many local firms were not willing to participate in its implementation due to some perception about government.

He enumerated some of the perception to include the fact that government was a slow payer, or have its own favoured suppliers for contract awards, that corruption played a part in contract award decisions and the lack of transparency in the procurement process. Mr Adjei made the appeal at the sixth AGI Executive Business Luncheon in Accra when he spoke on the topic "Public Procurement: An Instrument for the Growth of Local Industries- Prospects and Challenges". The Luncheon offered a business platform for members to network among themselves and with other stakeholders and also discuss issues pertaining to industrial development in the country.

Mr Adjei said the objective of instituting the public procurement system was to streamline public sector procurement to ensure judicious, efficient and economic use of national resources in an environment of fairness, transparency and accountability.

He said studies showed that public procurement in Ghana represented between 50 to 70 per cent of the national budget, besides personnel emoluments, and that if it was properly managed there was enormous potential for accelerated national development.

"Public procurement plays a central role in delivering all government priorities from health and education to policing and security.

"However, the positive influence of government procurement can go far beyond simply securing the goods and services it requires and it can also transform the market to the benefit of others," he said. Mr Adjei said public procurement provided business opportunities, and depending on how it was structured could be used as an important instrument of government policy to facilitate social and economic development.

He said it also has potential to contribute to attaining the goals of local economic development including poverty reduction. Mr Tony Oteng-Gyasi, President, Association of Ghana Industries, urged government to streamline the processes involved in the procurement procedure to make it less cumbersome and attractive to local businesses. He also urged government to ensure a "level playing field" for all businesses so that they could compete without the fear of intimidation from any quarters. 1 Nov 07