New report reveals public boards lose GHS 850m to irregularities in procurement
Boards of Public Institutions have overseen losses amounting to GHS 850m, a joint report by think-tanks IMANI and the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has revealed.
Per the report, the recorded losses were as a result of some irregularities identified in the procurement process of Public Institutions.
The report titled ‘Is Ghana’s Public Procurement System Hurting or Saving’, attributed the loss to absence of standards and professionalism in procurement; lack of PPA laws enforcement; weak safeguard mechanisms; weak internal audit systems; and weak regulatory oversight, leading to increased procurement irregularities.
Other reasons for the high amount of irregularities, the report stated, include flagrant abuse of the PPA Act by public institutions and weak and ineffective contract management.
In the said report, reference was made to the construction of BOST Head Office, Ghana Maritime Authority’s installation of a vessel information traffic management system, and the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority’s award of contract to non-tenderers as some incidents that were fraught with anomalies.
The analysis also disclosed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration recently made huge payments for no work done toward construction of the Riyadh Missions in Saudi Arabia.
“The use of wrong methods by the Ghana Maritime Authority from 2015-2018 through a requested quotation instead of national competitive tender led to a loss of GHC1.3 million, and GPHA’s use of single sourcing without approval of the PPA Board from 2017-2019 led to GHC6.3 million in losses,” it said.
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Indeed, in 2017 the AG’s report cited the purchase of over 10 million value books costing about GHC17.8million which remained unused.
Similarly, over 14 million booklets procured for some ministries at a cost of GHC21.5 million were not in use by the agencies – resulting in a procurement loss of GHC39.4 million in value on books wasted.
Despite the clear financial loss, the report stated that no sanctions were imposed on the various institutions involved.
Both IMANI and ACEP concluded that the current public procurement system is a major revenue leakage point for government, adding: “Weak oversight of the PPA and lack of political will to fully enforce the sanctions regime in the Public Procurement Authority Act 2016 (Act 914) are the major drivers of increased procurement irregularities among public institutions.
“With the executive’s huge influence over the procurement system, political patronage networks, clientelism and interference will be inevitable,” the think-tanks added.
IMANI and ACEP in the report, recommended that the PPA collaborate with the Office of the Chief Justice to establish a Financial Administration Court with the Due Diligence Unit at the PPA to consider critical issues such as beneficial ownership when evaluating procurement applications.
Adding that, the Ministry of Finance must integrate the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS) with GIFMIS, and ensure that Internal Auditors have full access to the GIFMIS.
