By Bernice Bessey
The Director of Procurement Civil Service, Mr. Tett Affotey Walter, has attributed the overspending of the yearly national budget to corrupt practices that associate procurement and tending processes in the country.
According to him, public procurement conduct was an issue of national concern, since tending and supply had been tangled with serious corrupt practices that leads the country into losing millions of cedis.
Mr. Tett Affotey Walter was speaking at Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) Pan Africa Conference 2013, which was under the theme “Leading global excellence in procurement and supply,” yesterday, in Accra.
Mr. Walter spoke on the topic “Strategic Role of public procurement in the development government – Ghana Civil experience.”
He noted that some professionals were not doing a professional job, adding that inappropriate procurement practices were causing delays in project commencement and completion.
He added that procurement malpractices can be averted, if procurement professionalism is encouraged, “there is need to have professionals in public procurement to manage the function.”
The Pan Africa Conference brought together professionals across the global to provide a vtraining platform to practitioners across the continent.
Other speakers at the conference were Zambia Minister of Works, Supply, Transport and Communications, Ms Lillian Karuri-Magero, Dr. Bola Afolabi and Dr. Tukiya Kankasa-Mabula.
The rest are Mr. Babs Omotowa, Mr. Milton Tumutegyereize, Mr. Johnstone Makhubu, Mr. Nat Maelane and Ms. Igeme Ezenwate.
The Deputy Governor, Bank of Zambia, Dr. Bola Afolabi, prayed for reforms in public procurement to ensure fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner to obtain value for money.
She said reforms in the public procurement would contribute towards the creation of a sound business climate.
Dr. Bola Afolabi explained that the public sector had grown large, and the existing centralised procurement system could not deliver value for money.
“It was part of the requirements set by the World Bank and other donor organisations as conditions for providing development aid, but principally, because the inefficiencies of the unreformed system had become self-evident (Agaba and Shipman, 2006)” she noted.
She added that government failure to achieve social policies on the public procurement practices, such as ensuring proportions of government contracts going to women, SMEs, or economically disadvantaged people or regions, are some challenges practitioners are facing.
She, therefore, called for the strengthening of the Institute of Procurement Professionals to enhance professionalism among the procurement cadre, and inculcate discipline in the profession.
Practitioners were also advised to read wide and learn new technologies to enhance their knowledge on the job, and be proud of their profession.