The Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, led by Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has sworn in a 10-member committee to oversee procurement activities and ensure compliance with public procurement laws.
The entity tender committee, which is under the chairmanship of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, would help protect the public purse and uphold fairness, transparency, and objectivity in procurement processes.
The committee's mandate also includes reviewing and approving procurement submissions, ensuring adherence to regulations, and maintaining public trust in the procurement system.
Dr Ayine led the committee members to take their official and secrecy oaths at a meeting in Accra yesterday.
The committee is made up of the Solicitor-General, Helen Akpene Awo Ziwu; the Chief Director in the A-G’s office, Fati Bodua Seidu; the Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa; a representative of the Legislative Drafting Division, Frederica S. Iliasu; the Director, Policy Planning, Budgeting and Evaluation, Doris A. Agyapong, and the Director-General, Administration, A-G’s office, Raynold Quarshie.
The rest are the Financial Controller, Josephine N.T. Awua; a representative of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana, Cecilia Cassandrah Karikari; a Senior Engineer of the Ghana Institute of Engineering, Albert Lankwei Ashong-Lamptey, and Francis Twum-Boateng, who will act as the Secretary to the Committee.
Mandate
Under the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (ACT 663), the committee has the mandate to review and approve annual procurement plans and quarterly updates of procurement plans to ensure they support the objectives and operations of the entity.
It also has the mandate to confirm the range of acceptable costs of items to be procured and match them with the available funds in the approved budget of the entity.
The committee also has the power to facilitate contract administration and ensure compliance with reporting requirements under the Act, and assist the head of the entity to ensure that stores, vehicles and equipment are disposed of in accordance with the Act.
Admonishment
The Attorney-General charged the committee to set examples for other ministries, departments and agencies to follow.
He explained that as an office in charge of prosecution and law enforcement, it was important for them to uphold the law in all procurement procedures.
“We at the ministry have been prosecuting public officials for breaking procurement laws, so we should be the last to be seen to be breaching the same laws that we have been enforcing against other public officials,” he said.
Dr Ayine expressed the hope that under his guidance and that of the members of the committee, they would work together to comply and use the resources very judiciously for the country to benefit.
