We will end shortcuts in shopping – Ameyaw-Ekumfi

Chairman of the new PPA Board of Directors, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi

The chairman of the new board of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi, has pledged to put an end to “shortcuts” in public procurement of ministries, departments and state agencies.

Prof Ameyaw-Ekumfi said that in order for public funds to be truly protected, irregularities in procurement must be eliminated.

“We will work with the law and all shortcuts in purchasing will be removed to help the president and his government ensure that public funds are effectively protected,” Prof. Ameyaw-Ekumfi said.

He gave this assurance at the nine-member board swearing-in ceremony in Accra on Monday, September 27, 2021.

The other members of the Council are Diana Asonaba Dapaah, Deputy Minister of Justice, Frank Mantey, Hayford Amoh, Ernestina Swatson Eshun, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, Samuel Richard New Baidoo, Isaac Kofi Amoah and Patricia Sarfo.

According to Professor Ameyaw-Ekumfi, former Minister of Education in the former government led by John Agyekum Kufuor, procurement issues remain sensitive for Ghanaians, hence the need to deal diligently to give citizens a good value for money.

The Auditor General’s reports over the years, he observed, have been filled with procurement violations causing the state thousands of cedis; a trend he said the Council he chairs would work to eliminate.

Deputy Minister of Finance Dr John Kumah was sworn in to the board, said he plays a vital and central role in the implementation of the public financial management regime and members should strive to meet this expectation.

“You have an enormous task not only to ensure that the Authority successfully fulfills its mandate, but also to improve its image and the procurement profession in our country,” said Dr Kumah, MP for Ejisu.

The government, he said, expects the board chaired by Professor Ameyaw-Ekumfi “to continuously strive for innovation and sustainability in the conduct of purchases through electronic systems in order to to ensure greater transparency, greater accountability and better value for money “.