AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CHALLENGES FACING PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGERS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT ACTS 2003, ACT 663 WITHIN GHANA IMMIGRATION SERVICE (GIS)

Abstract

The research seeks to explore the challenges facing public sector managers in the application of the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) within Ghana Immigration Service. Literature was reviewed in accordance with the study objectives and principal-agent theory was equally considered as the conceptual framework of the study. The research was quantitative in nature and questionnaire was the main instrument used and designed for a population of 100 respondents comprising procurement practitioners, GIS staff and service providers. Out of this population of 100 respondents, the researcher made use of a sample size of 50.A questionnaire was as the main data collection tool to gather information needed for the study. Descriptive statistics via Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17 were used with the support of Microsoft Excel package 2013 as the main tool for analyzing the data. The findings revealed that there was lack of transparency in the procurement process. Aside that, the procurement processes were seen to be very cumbersome and findings were further strengthened by the fact that the lack of qualified staff to follow strictly the processes and procedures pose major challenges for procurement activities. In the light of the above findings, it can be concluded and recommended that government should speed up the amendment of the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) to address the various implementation challenges facing procurement managers; encourage the engagement of qualified procurement professionals; promote probity and accountability in all state departments to reduce corruption in procurement process and ensure continuous capacity development of procurement stakeholders at all levels.