Procurement practitioners must be ready to account for every decision they take and be penalized for same if the decisions are in breach of a new code.
That’s according to the Minister of State in charge of Procurement Sarah Adwoa Safo.
She was speaking at the unveiling of the Committee charged with the responsibility to set the highest ethical standards for procurement practitioners.
Procurement has been the most popular vehicle for corruption in the public sector.
Every year, the Auditor General’s report is replete with cases of procurement breaches with dire implications to the country’s finances.
In 2018, three of the country’s Electoral Commissioners, Charlotte Osei, Georgina Opoku Amankwaa and Amadu Sulley were removed from office largely due to procurement breaches.
Allegations of procurement breaches still pertain in some of the public sector offices.
With a new code of conduct to be written by a committee to regulate activities of procurement practitioners, Adwoa Safo says there will be consequences when the code is breached.
“As procurement practitioners, we should be prepared to be accountable for the decisions we take and legally justify our official decisions and actions. Procurement officers shall not use or misuse their positions for private gain. This ethical standard when breached constitutes a serious breach of professional integrity,” Adwoa Safo said.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Procurement Authority expressed worry over the procurement breaches which he said have dented the image of the profession and led to corruption in some cases.
“Unfortunately, none compliance and corrupt practices continue to dent the image of the procurement industry. It is even more disheartening to realize that procurement professionals who are expected to save the public purse end up conniving with themselves and sometimes misconducting themselves under the guise of the fear of threats or emotions, loss of the jobs or relegation to the background…” he said.
He demanded a strict adherence of the code that will be introduced if the country will win the war against procurement breaches.
The Professional Ethics and Standards Committee for Procurement professionals is chaired by the President of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, Stella Aku Abbey.
Other members of the Committee include; Ms. Naa Shika, Ministry of Public Procurement, Mr. Collins Agyemang Sarpong, Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply (GIPS), Dr. Emmanuel Yaw Boakye, Technical Director, Ministry of Public Procurement, Mr. Solomon Sasu-Mensah, Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Public Procurement, Ing. Ebenezer K. Haizel, Ghana Institute of Engineers, Ing. Kofi E. Howard, Ghana Institute of Engineers, Surv. Humphrey T. Amegadoe, FGhIS, Ghana Institute of Surveyors, Surv. Helen Arthur, MGhIS, Ghana Institute of Surveyors, Mrs. Rhoda E. Appiah, Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Mr. David S. Amoah, PPA, Mr. Sam Acheampong (FCIPS), Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS),and Mr. Benjamin Baidoo, Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply (GIPS).
The rest are Mrs. Enerstina Oppong-Yeboah, Mrs. Eunice Osae, Local Government Service, Public Service Commission, Mr. Ebenezer Essilfie-Baiden, Head of Civil Service, Mr. Debrah Tetteh Odonkor, Civil Service, Mrs. Janet Ampadu Fofie, Public Service Commission, Issaka Abdul –Jamil, Bernard Asamany, Health Service Supply Chain Practitioners Association Ghana (HESSCPAG), Edwin Adnortey Agbugbla, HESSCPAG, Daphne Lariba Nabila and a representative each from the Ministry of Finance and Ghana Bar Association (GBA).
The committee has three months to present its report.
