Ghana claims to have become the first country in West Africa to establish an e-procurement system for public sector purchasing that will save an estimated $100m annually.
Vice president Mahamudu Bawumia announced the launch in Accra and said the rollout of the e-procurement system from June 2019 emphasised “the role of Ghana as a leader in digital innovation for Africa”.
The system is aimed at increasing efficiency, transparency and ending corruption in Ghana’s public procurement processes. It will use Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS) for reporting, displaying information at each stage of the procurement process.
Bawumia said: “It will increase productivity for both procurement officers and service providers, as all manual procurement processes and procedures are now being automated.
“With the eGhana procurement system, service providers – suppliers, consultants and contractors – will be able to respond to tenders and seek clarification and other information via the internet,” he said.
Henry Kerali, country director for Ghana at the World Bank, said cost savings driven by efficiency using the e-procurement system would bring to the country an estimated saving of $100m each year.
He said: “The advantages of the system include transparency, cost reduction, process efficiencies, spending controls and compliance with the laws of the nation.
“The longer term reduction in costs will enable the government to use resources most efficiently. Estimates of the World Bank indicate the introduction of e-procurement could save up to 2% of the GDP in efficiencies, which in the case of Ghana amounts to $100m per year,” he said.
Earlier this month, chief executive of Ghana’s Public Procurement Authority, Agyenim Boateng Adjei, said by implementing initiatives on due diligence and value for money the authority had produced savings of 1.9bn cedi ($368m).
“The PPA, as a result of the introduction of these initiatives, has in the space of 21 months made savings of GH¢1.9bn which literally means this amount of money has been freed to finance other areas of the economy,” he said.
He also announced the newly established Special Procurement Investigation Unit, created to investigate anomalies in public procurement.
☛ Want to stay up to date with the news? Sign up to our daily bulletin.