Procurement expert Michael Kofi Quashie, has noted that there's a common misunderstanding regarding procurement and the laws and ethics that govern it.

According to him, procurement involves acquiring goods or services through any legally permissible means.

Speaking on JoyNews' 'The Law', Mr Quashie emphasised that while purchasing, which involves paying to obtain something is one approach, it represents just one facet of procurement.

“When it comes to value for money, take an economy that is struggling; everything we acquire we pay to acquire, so you need a huge capital outlay to be able to acquire."

Mr Quashie noted that capital expenditures can be acquired through other means, not necessarily by paying upfront to acquire them.

The expert explained that leasing offers the opportunity to acquire an item and align repayments with cash flow.

He pointed out that leasing allows for extended use of the item over a prolonged period, whereas renting provides shorter-term access to the item.

“Some of the acquisitions we make, should we actually buy them or rent them? So, you find out that sometimes we buy an asset, we use it for a short purpose, and it sits down doing nothing, wasting away, and becomes a white elephant. We should not have bought it,“he noted.