ENHANCING GOOD GOVERNANCE THROUGH THE PUBLIC PROCUREM ENT ACT, 2003 (ACT 663): CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS IN WA MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY, UPPER WEST REGION

Abstract

In many countries of the World, the public procurement law has become a popular tool for ensuring transparency and accountability and thus, many governments view it as a vehicle for enhancing good governance. In the local government setting in Ghana, especially the Wa Municipal Assembly, the public procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), has been embraced as the means of ensuring prudent spending of public funds in its effort to bringing development to the doorsteps of the grassroots. The main objective of this study is to investigate the implementation challenges of the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) and the prospects thereof at the Wa Municipal Assembly. The study adopted the mixed method approach in espousing the challenges inhibiting the effective and efficient implementation of the Act at the Wa Municipal Assembly. The study revealed that; low threshold, differing levels of corruption, lack of procurement unit staffed with qualified procurement specialists, bureaucratic systems of procurement, high cost of procurement, delays in the payment of work executed by service providers and over concentration on price are hurdles to the effective and efficient implementation of the Act at the Wa Municipal Assembly. Despite these challenges, the study revealed that the Assembly has realised some prospects in the implementation of the Act as there has been increased competition in the bidding process and the achievement of value for money. The study concludes by recommending the establishment of a procurement unit; training of procurement stakeholders; streamlining of procurement processes; review of the procurement thresholds, monitoring, evaluation, enforcement of sanctions spelt out by the Act; and the need for political will as measures of ensuring the effective implementation of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) at the Wa Municipal Assembly.