The Akufo-Addo administration says it has saved about GHc 782 million from sole sourcing and restricted tendering processes within its first year in government.
This is in sharp contrast to the zero savings made from sole sourcing in 2016 under the National Democratic Congress, according to figures from President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Beyond this, the Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply, indicated that Ghana lost GH¢ 100 million through various unethical procurement practices in 2015.
The Auditor General’s annual reports have in the past noted that about 80 percent of procurement malpractices are centred around sole sourcing.
As part of what Akufo-Addo called a “good story to tell” following his first year in office, he said the gains made on this front were evidence of his government’s ability to rise to the challenge to turn around the country’s fortunes.
Speaking during his encounter with the media at the Flagstaff House on Wednesday, he recalled that the New Patriotic Party had consistently cited sole sourcing and procurement malfeasance as one of the reasons for the difficulties of the economy under the Mahama government.
The NPP argued that sole sourcing allowed corruption and benefited a privileged few in the Mahama government, as they vowed to end such practices.
Comparing his first year in office to the final year of the Mahama government in 2016, President Akufo-Addo noted that, in the year 2016, the Public Procurement Authority had “622 sole source requests. 577 of that number were approved and there were 25 rejections.”
“There were 592 requests made for restricted tenders, and 587 were approved and there were five rejections. A grand total of zero savings were made through the procurement process,” he outlined.
“But in 2017, 394 sole sourcing requests were made out of which 223 were approved and 171 were rejected. There were 346 requested for restricted tenders and 167 were approved and 179 were rejected,” the President stated.
“Now, here is the interesting part. The savings made over the year, as a result, amounted to GHc145 million, $142 million, €1.8 million and £22,400… you cannot argue with figures and such figures surely open up the incentive to open up government procurement,” the President added.
–
By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
