Finance Minister Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu has said that Government was determined to support systematic human capacity development programmes that would address bottlenecks hampering successful implementation of the Public Procurement Law. "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," he said. This was contained in a speech read for him by Mrs. Winifred Dy-Yakah, deputy Upper West Regional Minister at the opening of a five-day training workshop for procurement officers drawn from Wa Municipal, Wa West and Nadowli Districts at Wa on Tuesday. The workshop was the first in a series being organized for various target groups such as entity tender committees and tender review boards, in addition to statutory bodies including the Ghana Audit Service, Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Serious Fraud Office, Office 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 training programmes was reinforced by the fact that Ghana's public procurement reforms were increasingly becoming a centre of excellence within Africa and being closely monitored by development partners. Mr Stephen Amoah, who represented the Chief Executive of the Public Procurement Authority announced that a proposal sponsored by the Authority on career and progression of procurement officials within the public sector, had been 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 who would have opportunities to develop their careers. Source: GNA