PPA saves Ghana government $2.7 billion

The Public Procurement Authority has in the last 31 months saved the country $2.7 billion, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said.

Speaking during the presentation of the 2019 Mid-Year Budget Review on Monday, the minister said the savings is a significant achievement of the Akufo-Addo led administration as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) made no such savings while in office.

This will boost government’s revenue hence enable the Akufo-Addo led administration to channel the additional revenue to fund some of its flagship programmes.

He revealed savings were made between January 2017 and July 2019 from sole-sourced and restrictive tendering contracts.

Ofori-Atta said, “In a space of 31 months, by reviewing contracts that were either sole-sourced or procured through restrictive tendering, the Akufo-Addo administration has made savings of $2.75 billion, which breaks down to $800 million in 2017, 1.1 billion in 2018 and 1.085 billion in 2019.

According to him, the Mahama administration failed to make savings for the state throughout the period it was in office from 2013 to 2016.

“Permit me to compare these savings made by the PPA under this administration to what happened under the previous one, even though more contracts were awarded through sole-sourcing and restrictive tender annually than any year under this government. In 2013 savings registered was zero cedis,” he said.

The Finance Minister revealed, in 2014, savings made amounted to zero cedis and in the year 2015, savings made totaled zero cedis.

“Meanwhile, PPA made zero cedis in savings in 2016. When it comes to how taxpayers’ monies have been managed, the facts and figures,” the Minister added.