Government is determined to support systematic capacity development programmes that would address the major challenges and bottlenecks arising from the inadequate technical skills required for the successful implementation and enforcement of the Public Procurement Law (2003 Act 663). Mr Kwadwo Baa-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mrs Winifred Dy-Yakah, Deputy Upper West Regional Minister at the opening of a five-day training workshop for procurement practitioners drawn from Wa Municipal, Wa West and Nadowli District at Wa on Tuesday. "For an effective public procurement system that is transparent and free of corruption to function, it is simply not enough to enact Laws and set up regulations and publish manuals. The human factor needed to implement and enforce them is key". The workshop, which is the first in a series being organized for various target groups throughout the country, has the main objective of ensuring fairness, transparency and value for the scarce state resources in the procurement process. The target groups are entity tender committees and tender review boards, providers of goods, works and services to the public sector, oversight institutions such as the Ghana Audit Service, Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Serious Fraud Office, Members of Parliament and the Media. Mr Baah-Wiredu stated that making procurement efficient and ensuring value for money would translate into better infrastructure and public services for the people. He said the motive for organizing the nationwide training programmes was reinforced by the fact that Ghana's public procurement reforms were increasingly becoming a centre of excellence within Africa and is closely being monitored by development partners. Mr Stephen Amoah, a representative of the Chief Executive of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), announced that a proposal sponsored by the Authority on career and progression of procurement officials within the public sector had been accepted and approved by the Head of the Civil Service for implementation. He said the PPA capacity building policy was meant to encourage the establishment of functional procurement units in each procurement entity with competent personnel that would have opportunities to develop their professional careers in procurement. Mr Amoah announced that the Public Procurement Board had been re-designated as the Public Procurement Authority. Source: GNA