Anthony Abotsi-Afriyie, a Chartered Procurement and Supply Professional of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), has suggested more proactive measures that can be implemented to prevent the recurrence of procurement and contractual irregularities in the country to the Auditor General (AuG).

According to Abotsi-Afriyie, many of the irregularities in Ghana’s public sector, as perennially highlighted by the AuG’s reports, have some correlation with procurement and supply chain management, which can be addressed conclusively with procurement and supply chain interventions.

In a letter to the Auditor General, and copied to the Speaker of Parliament, the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, the Ag. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and the Chief of Staff, he enumerated eight (8) alternative recommendations that speak to specific procurement and contract irregularities for the consideration of the Office of the Auditor General.

The Procurement Expert indicated that the alternative recommendations have become necessary as, generally, recommendations emanating from various Audit Reports are reactive and remedial in nature, seeking only to correct infractions that have already occurred, thereby requiring a shift to more proactive measures.

He listed cash irregularities, uncollected revenue, inefficient revenue collection systems, unrecovered rent, unaccounted revenue, unpresented value books, payroll irregularities, sanitation management irregularities, tax irregularities, procurement irregularities and contract irregularities as the main issues often highlighted by the Auditor General’s reports.

Mr Abotsi-Afriyie noted that it is the amalgamation of these irregularities that accounts for the huge losses and underutilisation in Ghana’s public service operations, a chunk of which could have been prevented or mitigated with the right interventions, necessitating a paradigm shift in audit reporting.

Recommendations

He has therefore recommended a Comprehensive Tender Document Preparation and the inclusion of clauses on retention and Liquidated Damages to mitigate the state’s risk as a means to deal with Contract Management in the country. This, he believes, is because the tender document forms the bedrock of the contract.

On Lax Procure-to-Pay (P2P) Payment Systems, which covers payment for unexecuted works, overpayment to suppliers and full payment for under-supplied items, Mr Abotsi-Afriyie has recommended the inclusion of and insistence on matching systems in the processing of payments. This, he indicated, may be a 2-way matching Purchase Order–Invoice, 3-way matching Purchase Order–Invoice–Goods Received Note, or 4-way matching Purchase Order–Invoice–Goods Receipt Note–Inspection/Completion Report, as the case may be.

He has also recommended the use of the full complement of store/warehouse documentation, including store receipt and issue vouchers, goods receipt and consignment note and inspection report, to deal with poor inventory management, which covers non-documentation of store items.

For inadequate needs assessment, specifications and procurement packaging, which covers third-party repairs of medical equipment, he has recommended technical training as part of the procurement packages for the procurement of highly specialised medical equipment. This, he maintains, should be added to the procurement guidelines of all teaching hospitals, while entities should develop or adopt a coding nomenclature, whether electronic or manual, to address the phenomenon of wrong specifications.

On Non-Compliance, he has recommended a Structured Hands-on Training Programme for public procurement practitioners. This covers the award of contracts to suppliers not registered with the PPA, award of contracts to suppliers with invalid Tax and SSNIT clearance certificates, non-competitive procurement, single-source procurement without PPA approval, pre-financing for procurement of goods, contract variations without approval leading to increases in contract sums, Head of Entity (HOE) approvals instead of Entity Tender Committee (ETC) approvals, and cases of no ETC approval where required.

The procurement expert has also recommended insisting on and ensuring that all public entities procure in accordance with their prepared, approved and published procurement plans, which will go a long way to streamline the procurement function in our state institutions.

An effective way of ensuring compliance with the Procurement Plan, he noted, is to inculcate a quarterly reporting and review mechanism into their operations. This provides both the Head of Entity (HOE) and the Entity Tender Committee (ETC) with an opportunity to identify any potential for derailed procurements and respond with corrective action as soon as practicable, as a means of dealing with Procurement Planning.

For Performance Securities often provided in the form of either a bank guarantee or an insurance bond, he noted that while both serve the same purpose, they differ significantly in their risk assessment and collateral requirements, suggesting that AuG office may consider recommending to state procuring entities to insist on performance securities issued in the form of bank guarantees for high-value procurements to better protect the interest of the state in instances of non-performance.

The Procurement Expert further explained that with procurement evolving to become a strategic role in the administration and management of entities, legislation has become a useful tool for the judicious use of resources and the curbing of corrupt practices while spurring economic growth, especially in developing countries like Ghana.

He noted that none of these benefits can be realised, however, without the engagement of qualified personnel to discharge the roles and responsibilities that the function of procurement comes with, suggesting to the AuG’s office to consider recommending, in consultation with the Public Procurement Authority and other relevant stakeholders, legislation for a baseline qualification for the performance of procurement functions in Ghana’s public institutions.