Procurement critical to fiscal discipline - Dr. Duffuor

Accra, July 2, GNA - Public procurement is critical to the enforcement of fiscal discipline, reduction in unproductive recurrent expenditure and the improvement in revenue generation. Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, said this in Accra on Thursday when he inaugurated the Public Procurement Board.

The objective of the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) is to secure a judicious economic and efficient use of state resources and to ensure that public procurement is carried out in fair transparent and nondiscriminatory manner.

The board is to provide guidance and exercise oversight responsibility to assess the operations of procurement entities, plan and coordinate technical assistance on issues concerning procurement in the country.

The 10 member board has Commodore (Rtd) Steve Obimpeh as Chairman with Mr. Ebo Barton Oduro, Mr. Kwame Asante, Ms. Magdalene Appenteng, and Mr. Maxwell Awuku as members.

The rest are Ms. Mangowa Ghanney, Mrs. Margaret Andan, Mr. Basil Ahiable, Alhaji Abu Jajah and Mr. A.B. Adjei. "You are going to preside over a relatively infant institution which has acquitted itself creditably since its inception and has chalked success both locally and internationally," Dr. Duffuor said. He, however, warned that the board would still grapple with imminent operational and institutional challenges in the area of capacity, financing and critical human phenomenon of change management and asked the members to deal with the challenges of the organization to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.

"I urge you to carry out this mandate as a critical national assignment that deserves your total commitment in executing your function without fear or favor in upholding the principles of probity and accountability for the common good of all," he said. Dr. Duffuor said failure to manage and monitor procurement could lead to wasted efforts and poor development results but added "with your support we will get there sooner."

Commodore Steve Obimpeh (RTD) on behalf of the board said members would work earnestly with transparency to ensure value for money for the country.