PPA pilots e-procurement system - Six institutions earmarked
The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) is to pilot an electronic procurement system (e-procurement) in its quest to help enhance transparency in the tendering and awarding of contracts in public institutions in the country.
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As part of the pilot, six state institutions have been earmarked for the process which is expected to begin in the next six months.
They are the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Department of Feeder Roads, Ghana Health Services (GHS) and Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
In an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday after a technology salon on how Ghana’s open contracting efforts can be facilitated by leveraging Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Accra, the Principal I.T Specialist at PPA, Mr Thomas Bondzi, said; “We will first pilot these institutions because they are more professional and advanced and they have high spending and highly updated technology systems.”
He said the named institutions had a lot of procurement tenders and documents and were high-earning institutions, hence the decision to start with them.
Mr Bondzi said after the pilot, there would be 40 other institutions that would be gradually rolled onto the e-procurement system.
E-procurement
Mr Bondzi noted that the system was an end to end procurement system which comprised e-notification, e-catalogues, e-options, e-tendering, e-registration, e-attestation and contract/project management features.
This system is expected to cut down lengthy procurement terms and also reduce cost of processing documents for public entities.
According to him, “The system will help institutions and organisations to save time because the system will be available online and companies can access them without lengthy procurement procedures for simpler tenders.”
He said the system should be implemented in a maximum of two months after all procedures had been completed and approved.
E-procurement to cut government cost
The Vice-President of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), UK, Mr Simon Annan, said the implementation of e-procurement would help cut down government cost by almost 30 per cent.
He said the electronic procurement procedures eliminate manual intervention and ensure that there is transparency since processes are available online to give institutions an opportunity of accessibility.
According to him, “Research has indicated that if government competitively sources for goods and services, it will save the country almost 30 per cent of procurement cost, which means that the electronic system will allow for wide accessibility since many companies will be registered on the system.”
He added that in far advanced countries, there were existing digitised and automated procurement systems which were effective and efficient over the years and saved the government a lot of money.
He, therefore, called on the government to urgently introduce and implement the e-procurement system to save the country some money in order to fund other areas.