The Controller and Accountant-General will no longer issue manual cheques for public procurements from January next year, the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced.
He said the Ministry had realised that, despite all the advocacy and education, people were still processing payment outside the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information (GIFMIS) system.
In that regard, Mr Forson said, the new measure was a way to compel everybody to operate within the GIFMIS system.
Dr Forson, who was addressing the opening of the 11th Public Procurement Forum in Accra on last Thursday in a speech read on his behalf, cautioned that “Soon, if you do not procure through the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEP), you cannot procure.”
Again, he said, “If you do not operate within the system, you cannot spend,” adding, “Whatever the impediment, you have to begin to work towards removing that.”
“So, the 55 per cent outstanding procurement that is being done outside GHANEPS, put your house in order.
That is a way to force everybody to operate within the GIFMIS system, and soon, if you do not procure through GHANEPS, you cannot procure because when we move from GIFMIS, we are coming to GHANEPS, and we will not allow any procurement outside the system,” he stressed.
Theme
The forum, which was under the auspices of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), was on the theme: “Enhancing transparency, efficiency and effectiveness in public procurement”.
The PPA forum is a flagship event that brought together key partners in the public procurement ecosystem for knowledge sharing, strategic dialogue, capacity building and networking.
It offered a unique platform to foster collaboration and partnerships across all sectors and levels of government, thereby advancing the principles of transparency, accountability and value for money in public procurement.
Dr Forson said the Ministry of Finance was fully committed to supporting the PPA to achieve universal adoption across all entities and suppliers, pointing out that "Our goal is clear, every procurement transaction must be processed through GHANEPS without exception, and this is non-negotiable.”
30th anniversary
Dr Forson said public procurement lay at the heart of economic transformation, job creation, fiscal prudence and public confidence and, therefore, as the country approached the 30th anniversary of its procurement reforms, history called on Ghanaians to deliver a system that stood as a model for integrity, innovation and impact.
“Next year, that is 2026, will mark three decades since Ghana embarked on comprehensive public procurement reforms and the public financial management reform programme. We must feel privileged to be part of this revolution in procurement.
This is our defining moment, let us seize it, to build a procurement system worthy of Ghana’s aspiration,” he emphasised, saying that the Ministry of Finance had accelerated reforms in the public financial management ecosystem with a strong focus on procurement integration.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the PPA, Frank Mante, underscored the significance of Electronic procurement (e-procurement) and said it had, among other benefits, helped to save cost and lauded the transparency of the processes.
Mr Mante said E-Procurement also helped in greater participation, and it served as a key source of data in procurement.
He said it was a means to contribute to commitment control since uncontrolled procurements led to huge debts for the government.
Mr Mante said this new measure would ensure some discipline.
The Board Chairman of the PPA, Basil Kwadwo Ahiable, who chaired the ceremony, said: “As we continue to operationalise GHANEPS, it was imperative that we strengthen our collective effort towards the utilisation of the GHANEP.”
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