The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) has urged public institutions, particularly Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), to strictly comply with the Public Procurement Act in order to ensure transparency, efficiency and value for money in the use of public funds.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the PPA, Mr Frank Mante, made the call at the 2026 Public Procurement Forum held in Accra yesterday.
The forum, which brought together procurement professionals, representatives of MMDAs and other stakeholders, was held on the theme: ‘Deepening Compliance for Public Procurement Efficiency, Transparency and Effectiveness.’
Mr Mante said recent amendments to procurement thresholds, following concerns raised at last year’s forum, had increased spending limits for heads of entities to facilitate faster procurement processes.
He explained that the previous threshold of GH₵100,000 for heads of entities in categories A and B had been increased to GH₵800,000 for the procurement of goods across categories A, B and C.
The adjustment, he underlined, would enable institutions to undertake smaller procurement activities more quickly without referring every transaction to entity tender or review committees.
He, however, stressed that the revised thresholds did not exempt public institutions from complying with the law, citing Sections 17 and 18 of the Act, which prescribe procedures for procurement above specified thresholds.
On transparency, Mr Mante said the authority was working to ensure that procurement decisions, particularly those involving competitive tendering and single-source procurement, were properly justified and open to scrutiny.
He noted that Section 65 (9) of the Act required unsuccessful tenderers to be informed of the reasons for their failure, a provision intended to strengthen accountability.
He also encouraged private sector operators to register and familiarise themselves with the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS), which he said would reduce human interference and widen participation.
The system, he explained, would allow suppliers and contractors, including those outside Accra, to submit tenders electronically without incurring the cost of travelling long distances.
Mr Mante further cautioned that breaches of procurement regulations attracted sanctions, particularly failure to obtain commitment authorisation from the Ministry of Finance before undertaking procurement activities.
He acknowledged logistical and human resource constraints affecting the authority’s nationwide monitoring efforts but said it relied on training, investigations, internal audit units and the Auditor-General to identify infractions.
In remarks on behalf of the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, by the Coordinating Director, Technical of MoF, Mr Samuel Arkhurst, also called for strict compliance with procurement regulations.
He said effective management of public resources was critical to national development and commended the PPA for organising the annual forum in fulfilment of its mandate under Section 3 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), as amended.
He urged procurement practitioners and public officials to regard compliance not merely as a legal obligation but as a professional responsibility to the Ghanaian people.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
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