The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) has responded to claims made by Bright Simons regarding the implementation of the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS), Simons alleged “giveaways” and questioned the effectiveness of GHANEPS in an opinion article published on The African Report.
The PPA clarified that 5048 contracts have been awarded through GHANEPS, with 64% being Request for Quotations (RFQ) tenders, the most common method used in Ghana. The Authority explained that the high number of small-value contracts is due to a transition phase allowing manual procurement alongside electronic procurement.
Simons claimed that framework agreements were “useless,” but the PPA explained that they are commonly used for frequently purchased items, saving costs and reducing lead times. The Authority also clarified that all World Bank projects using Ghana’s public procurement system are required to use GHANEPS, with non-compliance resulting in stopped disbursements.
The PPA described Simons’ claim of $3 billion annual losses through procurement in Ghana as “highly improbable,” noting that less than 30% of government expenditure passes through public procurement.
This is not the first time Simons has made claims about GHANEPS. In January 2022, he falsely claimed that the government had spent over $5 million on a system with only two tenders. The PPA corrected him, revealing 758 tenders published on GHANEPS at the time.
The PPA assured Ghanaians that the transition to electronic procurement is on course, with the Authority working with stakeholders to ensure all public procurement is done through GHANEPS by 2025. The introduction of GHANEPS aims to increase accessibility, transparency, and fairness in public procurement in Ghana.
