AN ASSESSMENT OF TRANSPARENCY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR PROCUREMENT PROCESS IN THE GHANA HEALTH SERVICE IN THE UPPER WEST REGION

Abstract

In public procurement, the principle of transparency has been recognized by legislators, government officials, procurement practitioners, academics and professionals alike as a necessary condition for reducing corruption. However, in Ghana, public procurement appears to be one of government activities most vulnerable to waste, fraud and corruption. Among health entities in the Upper West Region, studies have not established whether their processes of procurement are open, fair and transparent procedures. The objective of this study, therefore, is to assess transparency in procurement among public health entities of the Upper West Region. Primary data were gathered from 72 procurement committee members with the aid of a questionnaire. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results indicate that procurement committee members of the various entities are people with different professional training. Their roles include generation of the requirement for evaluation, determination of quality of health commodities and recommending list of items required. The procurement methods often used are the national competitive tender, restricted tender, and price quotation. Evidence was that procurement entities report information on procurement activities through different media. The common ones include national newspapers, internet/journals, radio and the traditional noticeboards. It was discovered that procurement entities face challenges relating to advertisement, access to internet, inadequate staff, poor remuneration of existing staff and late payment of contractors/suppliers. The study recommends that efforts towards ensuring transparency in the procurement process should include recruiting more staff with background training in procurement, intensifying records keeping and making procurement information available to the public through both traditional media and modem electronic means.