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Ms Sarah Adwoa Sarfo, receiving the award on behalf of President Akufo-Addo from Prof. Douglas Boateng (left). Picture: EBOW HANSON
Ms Sarah Adwoa Sarfo, receiving the award on behalf of President Akufo-Addo from Prof. Douglas Boateng (left). Picture: EBOW HANSON

Akufo-Addo, others honoured at Procurement and Supply Chain Awards

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was last Friday rewarded with the Outstanding Change Leadership Accolade at the maiden edition of the Ghana Procurement and Supply Chain Awards in Accra.

According to the organisers, Instinct Wave, the award was in recognition of national procurement transformation in support of Ghana’s long-term industrialisation and socio-economic development by the President.

A citation accompanying the President’s award said the president’s visionary leadership, unflinching determination to transform procurement and supply chain thinking in Ghana has significantly reduced corruption and raised the benchmark of excellence in the profession.

The ceremony, which was on the theme: “Promoting Procurement Excellence in Ghana”, saw a total of 60 personalities and institutions celebrated for their diverse contributions to the growth of the procurement industry over the years.

The Minister of State in charge of Public Procurement, Ms Sarah Adwoa Safo, also received the Sustainable Procurement Transformation award while the chairman of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Prof. Douglas Boateng, and his CEO, Mr A .B. Adjei, received the Lifetime Achievement and the Procurement Man of The Year awards, respectively.

Other high-profile personalities were decorated under the Special Recognition Category.

Competitive categories

The event, which was organised in partnership with the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply (GIPS), Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) and the Chartered Institute of Supply Chain Management (CISCM), saw private and public institutions rubbing shoulders for some competitive categories on the night.

These were Zenith Bank, MTN Ghana, Unilever and Airtel Tigo.

In the public sector contest, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi won three awards.

Other winners in this category were Gold Fields Ghana, Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana Police Service, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

The rest were the Public Procurement Authority, Accra Brewery Limited, Unilever, Kosmos Energy, Anglogold Ashanti, Airtel Tigo, Labadi Beach Hotel and the Strategic Securities Systems

The organisers also unveiled the top 20 procurement and supply chain power leaders.

Affirmative action

Speaking at the event, Ms Safo noted that the Procurement Ministry was working tirelessly to come out with a policy to ensure that targeted groups were given the opportunity to take advantage of the procurement opportunities available to the local industry.

That policy, she explained, aimed at ensuring that all procurement entities allocated at least 30 per cent of all government contracts, be they works, goods and services to companies that were owned by women, the youth and persons with disability.

“This is an affirmative action policy that very soon the President will launch,” she said.

Ms Safo, who received the award on behalf of the President, said the government had extreme interest in improving and enhancing the procurement procedures and rules in the country, adding “there has been a paradigm shift in the way our procurement activities are carried out due to some directives from the President and I must say that this is already yielding good results.”

For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Instinct Wave, Akin Naphtal, lauded President Akufo-Addo for establishing a Procurement Ministry in the country for the first time, adding that there was the need to engage professionals to ensure that the necessary policies were put in place.

“The commitment shown to procurement by establishing the first Procurement Ministry shows that the sector needs more awareness and committed efforts and that cannot be done without the professionals. It is when they are engaging the professionals that they can come up with the policy that can drive the industry forward,” he said.

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