Frank Mante
THE ACTING Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Frank Mante has cautioned business entities to ensure they enrol onto the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS) as soon as possible or risk sanctions.
The PPA, he intimated, was embarking on stakeholder engagements as well as carrying out trainings for staff of various business entities so to ensure that they [the businesses] familiarise themselves adequately with the system and its features, but some businesses have shown reluctance in enrolling onto the platform.
“Let me emphasize that, it is absolutely critical for entities to take advantage of all the support and grace period of transition. Very soon sanctions will be applicable to those that do not use the system and trainings will no longer be free”, he cautioned.
He made this statement during a workshop for members of the national steering committee held in Accra on Wednesday.
The PPA, he further disclosed, had set up a dedicated secretariat whose responsibility was to ensure a smooth transition for government entities as well as the private sector in a phased roll-out.
Every month, a set of entities are taken through the roll-out process which commences with stakeholder engagement, training and then on-site support when entities would start using the system.
According to him, 315 stakeholder engagements had been done so far, out of which 303 have gone through training.
A total of 275 out of the 303 trained have already been set up on the system and are considered to be live.
“Entities that are live on the system are urged to use it for all their procurement activities. PPA is ready to support you through this journey. Those that have entered the roll-out process are admonished to collaborate with the staff of PPA to quicken their transition”, he counselled.
The GHANEPS platform was officially launched on April 30, 2019 with the aim of on-boarding all government entities to the system by 2023.
This means that the entire public procurement system in Ghana is expected to be fully digitalized by October 2023.
This applies to all procurement methods, which include RFQ, open tender (i.e. NCT and ICT), RT, SS as well as expression for the procurement of consultants.
“Fully digitalized means that, tender publication, tender submission by service providers, tender opening, tender evaluation, award of contracts and the management of contracts will all be done electronically. Disposal of goods through auction could also be conducted electronically”, the Acting CEO added.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio