A delegation from the Kingdom of Lesotho, an enclave in Southern Africa, is in the country to share ideas and understudy Ghana’s Public Procurement Authority (PPA).

The visit follows a request by the PPA in Kingdom of Lesotho to visit Ghana and appraise themselves with the operations of their Ghanaian counterpart.

Topics discussed include governance and policy direction for effective procurement authority, capacity development and accreditation, certification pathways, research, policy and planning strategies to ensure that government procurement achieves transparency, accountability and value for money.

Other issues discussed were the directorate compliance mechanisms, legal directorate framework and the Ghana electronic systems architecture and functionalities.

The team would use part of the three-day programme to visit the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) to have more insight into the institute’s academic programmes.

The Board Chair of Lesotho PPA, Ms Thandy Pino, stated that the delegation was in the country to learn from the operations and innovations of the PPA Ghana and incorporate same in their programmes.

The Board Chair indicated that the Lesotho PPA was an independent body with the mandate to oversee public procurement activities in the country.

The Chief Executive Officer of PPA, Ghana, Mr Frank Mante, in his address stated that capacity building was one of the core functions of the authority as it trained practitioners and suppliers to enable them understand the law and know what it stood for.

Moreover, the Public Procurement Authority CEO stated that he was clothed with the power of ratifying wrongdoings as such anything that did not comply with the Act could be ratified through investigations and a report submitted to the board.

He said the authority had taken steps to implement an electronic system that would enhance effective public procurement systems, indicating that the Lesotho PPA, as a new authority, had no option than to start with an electronic system.