The Implementation challenges of Public Procurement Act (ACT 663) faced by the Ejisu Government Hospital, Ghana

Abstract

Keeping with government’s commitment to financial discipline, accountability, transparency and ethical conduct, effective management of public procurement to obtain value for state spending is paramount. This forms part of the reasons for the introduction of the Public Procurement Act 663 in Ghana to regulate public spending. However, this measure has been plagued with some difficulties in corruption, bureaucracy and general delays in the procurement processes. The study basically aimed at assessing the challenges associated with the implementation of the Act 663 in Ejisu Government Hospital. In all, fifteen (15) respondents were sampled for the study. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. The primary data was collected using self administered questionnaire, supplemented by interview guide and focus group discussion. The study adopted descriptive to analyse the data collected with the help of SPSS version 16. The study revealed that, the implementation of the Act 663 caused delay in the procurement activities of the hospital. The study also revealed that, key challenges faced by the Hospital with regards to the implementation of the ACT 663 is inadequate qualified procurement officials to handle procurement activities in the hospital. However, the ACT brought some level of transparency in the procurement processes had been enhanced. It was therefore recommended that, the prevailing thresholds set for public entities should be reviewed to higher level to avoid delays in the procurement processes.

Key words: Procurement Act, Ejisu government Hospital, Implementation challenges