PPA issues final warning to procurement entities over non-compliance

The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) has issued a final warning to procurement entities that have failed to comply with provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), as amended.

In a public notice signed by the Chief Executive of the PPA, Frank Mante, the Authority said some procurement entities have not fulfilled their legal obligation to publish procurement plans and contract awards on the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS).

According to the PPA, Section 21 of the Act requires procurement entities to publish their procurement plans on the GHANEPS platform and update them every quarter.

Section 31 also makes it mandatory for entities to promptly publish details of contract awards on the platform.

However, the Authority said its review of the GHANEPS system revealed that several entities have failed to comply with these requirements.

The PPA described the notice as a final caution to all defaulting entities and warned that further action would be taken against those that continue to breach the law.

It stated that the names of non-compliant procurement entities will be published after the caution period, and the Authority will apply the appropriate sanctions as provided under the law.

As part of the sanctions, the PPA said its Board will not consider applications for single-source procurement or restricted tendering from entities that fail to comply with the publication requirements.

The Authority further reminded heads of procurement entities that they bear direct responsibility for ensuring compliance with the law under Section 18 of the Public Procurement Act.

It therefore urged all procurement entities to take immediate steps to publish their procurement plans and contract awards on the GHANEPS platform and ensure full compliance with the Act.

By: Jacob Aggrey