31st March, 2020
The Public Procurement Authority pursuant to its mandate under Section 3 of the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) as amended by the Public Procurement (Amendment) Act 2016 (Act 914), and mindful of its oversight responsibilities as the Regulator of Public Procurement in Ghana, hereby provides the following guidelines to aid in the conduct of public procurement during this Shutdown Period as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Receipt and Opening of Tenders/Proposals
For all Tenders/Proposals for which the submission deadlines fall within the Shutdown Period, Procurement Entities are advised to extend the receipt of such Tenders/Proposals to a further period beyond the shutdown period. Such decisions should be immediately communicated to Tenderers through the publication of Addenda and via email. Confirmation of receipt of such emails should be received from the Tenderers. This should form part of the records of procurement proceedings in line with Section 28 of Act 663 as amended.
However, where due to the urgency of the subject matter of the procurement, the Procurement Entity deems it prudent not to extend the deadline for submission of Tenders/Proposals, the Tenders/ Proposals will have to be opened on the date set as the deadline. Procurement Entities are hereby directed to notify all Tenderers via email of their decision to open such Tenders/Proposals. Procurement Entities are strictly advised to be guided by the social distancing protocols during the opening of Tenders/Proposals and the appropriate logistics provided for such purposes. Procurement Entities are required to take Minutes of the Tender/Proposal Openings which should be shared with Tenderers on the same day of Tender/Proposal Opening.
Procurement Entities are also encouraged to explore video conference options where Tenderers can log in to observe the Tender/Proposal Opening process in order to promote transparency. Procurement Entities that have already enlisted onto the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS) are entreated to use the system for all their procurement activities.
Pre-tender/Proposal Conferences/Meetings
Procurement Entities are hereby directed to suspend all Pre-tender/Pre-proposal meetings during this Shutdown period. Pre-tender/Pre-proposal meetings scheduled to be held after the Shutdown Period, are to be conducted with full regard to all the social distancing protocols.
Tender/Proposal Evaluations
For ongoing evaluations of Tenders/Proposals, Procurement Entities are advised to proceed in accordance with the social distancing protocols. Procurement Entities should ensure that the evaluation processes are completed on schedule, bearing in mind the validity periods of the Tenders/Proposals.
Procurement Entities are advised to contact the Authority for clarifications on any other procurement related matters via email at: info@ppaghana.org or call 0552565494/0505846550.
SIGNED
FRANK MANTE
AG. CHIEF EXECUTIVE
TO ALL PUBLIC ENTITIES
CC: Chief of Staff
Office of the President
Jubilee House
Minister of Finance
Ministry of Finance
Ministries- Accra
Minister of State In-charge of Public Procurement
President Annex
Accra