A 13-member delegation from the Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA) visited Ghana from Monday 5th June through Wednesday 14th June 2023 to study Ghana’s Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS).
The study tour took place in Sunyani, the Bono Region, the PPA Head Office and the GHANEPS Secretariat.
The deputy CEO of PPA, Mr Kwame Prempeh, said he was delighted that the PPA had been chosen as the final destination of their study tour after visiting Rwanda and Nigeria.
“Many African countries are adopting electronic procurement systems to improve public sector governance. By the end of this year, GHANEPS will be the only way to conduct procurement in Ghana. Ghana’s adoption of electronic procurement will generate enormous benefits for the government, procurement practitioners as well as the private sector. Both regulatory authorities will also have the opportunity to exchange best practices and share lessons learned from the visit” Mr. Kwame Prempeh stated.
According to the Director General of the GPPA, Ghana was chosen as part of the study tour because it has successfully implemented efficient and effective e-procurement systems.
“The objective of the Study Tour is to learn and benefit from the experiences of countries with a proven record in transforming and modernizing their procurement systems through setting up effective project governance structures and implementing e-procurement” he stated.
The delegation was made up of the Director General of the GPPA, Phoday M. Jaiteh, the Executive Secretary of the Gambia Competition & Consumer Protection Commission, Amadou Ceesay, a procurement specialist of the Gambia Fiscal Management Development Project, Ngenarr Sosseh, Director Compliance & Procurement Practices, Samba Tambura, Procurement Officer – Directorate of the Public Procurement, Isatou Mbenga, Finance Manager (GPPA), Ebrima Darboe, Human Resource Manager (GPPA), Alieu Y. Kah, Principal IT Officer (GPPA), Foday Jorh, Principal IT Officer (GPPA), Alieu Bangura, Principal IT Officer (GPPA), Mamadou Jallow, Senior Compliance Officer (GPPA), Jamila Maame Esi Odoom, Audit Supervisor (GPPA), Mustapha Njie, and Compliance Assistant (GPPA), Muhammed Sawaneh
As part of the activities for the study tour, the delegation participated in a five-day training on GHANEPS in Sunyani, a two-day presentation on PPA’s activities, a visit to the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), and a visit to the GHANEPS Secretariat.
Background:
The system for e-GP in Ghana is known as GHANEPS (Ghana Electronic Procurement System). Its implementation originates from June 2011 when PriceWaterHouse Coopers (PwC) was engaged as consultants for the systematic development of an e-GP in Ghana. They developed the strategic plan for the implementation. In 2017, a firm was chosen through an international competitive tendering process to partner with the government in providing a system with full end-to-end e-GP functionalities. The application was developed with the input of five pilot Government Entities. The five selected entities were the Department of Feeder Roads, Ghana Cocoa Board, Ghana Health Service, Koforidua Technical University and Tema Metropolitan Assembly. On 30th April 2019, Vice President His Excellency Dr Mahamudu Bawumia launched GHANEPS. The first phase (I) of the implementation culminated in a six-month pilot run with the five entities. In November 2019, the Phase II of the implementation was initiated, with the objective of rolling the system out to all government entities in Ghana. As part of the rollout, public entities and the private sector are sensitized, trained, and supported in the use of the system. The Roll-Out is being carried out in a phased approach and is targeted to be completed by the end of this year.
