Ensuring transparency in public procurement: GACC charges media, CSOs to intensify advocacy
The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has charged the media and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to intensify their advocacy on the use of OCDS in public procurement.
Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS) according to the GACC, is the surest way to ensure value for money and reduce the corruption that has shrouded procurement in the country.
The Coalition, at a training it organised, said its aim is to build the capacity of the media and CSOs to intensify their advocacy on procedures that will foster transparency in the procurement process.
A Communications Officer of GACC, Faustina Djabatey, told Ghanasonline.com, that, “advocacy is more effective when we collaborate and that’s why we brought together civil society practitioners and also journalists here, to have an understanding of the process when it comes to procurement so that they could also support us with their platforms when it comes to these issues.”
Miss Djabatey added that “once they [media and CSOs] understand that this is the procurement cycle, this is what information is needed at every stage of it, it helps them to really advocate on our behalf so that we collectively help to improve our service delivery. Because all of these things when they’re absent, it affects our service delivery. So the whole idea is to build partnership with journalists and CSOs.”
A phase one of the workshop organised earlier focused on the public sector where procurement experiences were shared. Even though with the same objective, the second phase capitalised on strengthening the media and CSOs to deepen their espousal on public procurement.
Meanwhile, a Community and Personal Capacity Building Manager of Open Contracting Partnership (OCP), Andie Okon, in a zoom session elucidated some of the benefits OCDS offers in public procurement.
She noted that when OCDS is employed, data is generated to educate the public on what their funds are being used for, irrespective of the mode of procurement–electronic or paper.
Miss Okon added that innovative partnership with civil society and organisations are needed to effectively implement OCDS, as well as raising red flags across all the stages of the procurement process.
These red flags, she indicated, help to prevent corruption risks associated with the system as well as incompetencies in the delivery.
The Public Procurement Authority (PPA), also explained its new system – the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS) which is migrating its work from manual to E-procurement to reduce the inefficiencies in the processes, as well as curbing corruption.
The PPA has currently enrolled 182 institutions on the GHANEPS.
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