The Minister of State in Charge of Public Procurement, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has served notice to all professionals in the procurement sector to live by the tenets of a new Code of Ethics else will be fired.
According to her, it is about time that procurement professionals are held accountable for the decisions and actions they take, stressing that anything contrary will warrant sanctions that will not be palatable to offenders.
“As procurement practitioners, we should be prepared to be accountable for the decisions we take and legally justify our official decisions and actions. Procurement officers shall not use or misuse their positions for private gain. This ethical standard when breached constitutes a serious breach of professional integrity,” she said at the unveiling of a Committee tasked with the responsibility to formulate a code of conduct that will set the highest ethical standards for benchmarking procurement practitioners.
The Professional Ethics and Standards Committee for Procurement professionals which is chaired by Stella Aku Abbey, who is also the President of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, has three months to present its report.
Other members of the Committee include; Dr. Emmanuel Yaw Boakye, Technical Director, Ministry of Public Procurement, Mr. Solomon Sasu-Mensah, Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Public Procurement, Ms. Naa Shika, Ministry of Public Procurement, Ing. Ebenezer K. Haizel, Ghana Institute of Engineers, Ing. Kofi E. Howard, Ghana Institute of Engineers, Surv. Humphrey T. Amegadoe, FGhIS, Ghana Institute of Surveyors, Surv. Helen Arthur, MGhIS, Ghana Institute of Surveyors, Mrs. Rhoda E. Appiah, Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Mr. David S. Amoah, PPA, Mr. Sam Acheampong (FCIPS), Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), Mr. Collins Agyemang Sarpong, Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply (GIPS) and Mr. Benjamin Baidoo, Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply (GIPS).
The rest are Mr. Ebenezer Essilfie-Baiden, Head of Civil Service, Mr. Debrah Tetteh Odonkor, Civil Service, Mrs. Janet Ampadu Fofie, Public Service Commission, Mrs. Enerstina Oppong-Yeboah, Public Service Commission, Mrs. Eunice Osae, Local Government Service, Issaka Abdul –Jamil, Bernard Asamany, Health Service Supply Chain Practitioners Association Ghana (HESSCPAG), Edwin Adnortey Agbugbla, HESSCPAG, Daphne Lariba Nabila and a representative each from the Ministry of Finance and Ghana Bar Association (GBA).
The CEO of Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Mr. A. B. Adjei on his part said he expects procurement professionals to conduct their activities in an ethical manner to ensure transparency and judicious use of state resources to achieve value for money.
“Unfortunately, none compliance and corrupt practices continue to dent the image of the procurement industry. It is even more disheartening to realize that procurement professionals who are expected to save the public purse end up conniving with themselves and sometimes misconducting themselves under the guise of the fear of threats or emotions, loss of the jobs or relegation to the background. Ethics is concerned with moral principles and values. Ethical approach in public procurement therefore implies exemplary approach to all procurement processes that cannot be questioned or criticized”, he noted.
He added: “A strict adherence to the code of conduct and the fundamental principles of public procurement will result in increased efficiency in the procurement functions. Procurement operations will then become more effective and enhanced resulting in deduction in bribery and corruption and thereby achieving value for money”. – Kwaku Baah Acheamfour
