The Consequences of Public Procurement and Its Associated Irregularities in Ghana

Abstract

Ghana spends a large number of its public resources on the acquisition of goods, works and services with most of them being sourced through Public Procurement. The country in its quest to ensure transparency and efficiency in its public transaction established the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and clothed it with powers by an Act of Parliament to discharge the given responsibilities. However, since 2003 when the 4th Republican rule was instituted, not a single government regime has exited from office without recourse to irregularities associated with the procurement processes as reported by the Auditor General’s Annual Reports or reports by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). The goal of this paper is to look at the consequences of these irregularities in the procurement process posed to Ghana’s development. The methodology used in carrying out this study centred mainly on secondary data, and some recommendations have been offered for consideration.

Exploring the anti‐corruption abilities of e‐procurement in Ghanaian mining companies

“…According to Ameyaw et al (2017), the enactment of the Public Procurement Act and Public Financial Management Act in Ghana undoubtedly has helped in addressing issues of procurement fraud and corruption. However, there remains a lot to be done to ensure efficiency in institutions' expenditures as procurement fraud and corruption are prevalent (Essel, 2021).…”

“…A lot of countries in Sub‐Saharan African countries are having enormous challenges in curbing corruption which is increasingly becoming a norm. The over‐concentration of power in the hands of dishonest politicians and technocrats continues to derail the effort in fighting corruption (Essel, 2021). Procurement breaches are very common to find in audit reports in Ghana (Ofori‐Mensah & Rutherford as cited in Dauda et al, 2020).…”

“…Procurement breaches are very common to find in audit reports in Ghana (Ofori‐Mensah & Rutherford as cited in Dauda et al, 2020). For example, the former chairperson for the Electoral Commission of Ghana was removed from office due to complete disregard of the procurement regulations such as; sole sourcing without authorization from the Public Procurement Authority and abrogation of a contract without due process among others (Essel, 2021). In the Ghanaian mining sector, the second‐highest ranking of the five types of economic crime that are most frequently reported is procurement fraud and corruption (Taylor, 2022).…”