Professor Douglas Boateng, extraordinary professor for supply and value chain management at the SBLUNISA and the UK Institute of Operations Management, will be one of the key note speakers at the 2013 CIPS Pan African Conference in Accra Ghana on May 21 and 22, 2013. Prof Douglas Boateng (MSc EngD FCILT FCMI FIoD FIC FIOM FCIPS) is currently amongst others, Chairman of the Africa Advisory board of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and CEO of the PanAvest Partnership, a 5th party supply chain and human capital development organization. This event, themed ‘The strategic role of professional procurement in the development of Africa’, is expected to be attended by over 1000 delegates from all over Africa and the rest of the world. Also to address the participants of this historic gathering of supply chain management professionals will be Hon. Samuel Sallas-Mensah, former MP for the Upper West Akim Constituency, and the Chief Executive for the Public Procurement Authority. An accountant by profession, Mr. Sallas-Mensah holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Accounting Major) from the Wharton Business School and has a wealth of experience in supply chain management. Mr. Sallas-Mensah is a seasoned politician who has served on several public committees, including as Chairman of the Ghana Research Advocacy Program and Member - Trade, Tax & Tariff Review Committee; the Value Added Tax National Oversight Committee and the Governing Board of Customs, to mention a few. Touching on the up-coming event Mr. Sallas Mensah said ‘Public Procurement is a key economic and political activity of government. Besides being a simple act of purchase, it is a development tool; translating development finance into development outcomes’.