The impact of the Public Procurement Act 2003, (Act 663) on District Assemblies` Common Fund Projects

Ghana`s Public Procurement Act, 663 which came into force in 2003 was meant to promote good governance in the public financial management system. A statutory fund like the District Assemblies` Common Fund (DACF) on the other was also enacted by an Act of Parliament in 1993 known as Act 455 to provide funding towards local and rural development. The Public Procurement Law is significant to the DACF because it employs public procurement procedures and processes. This piece of work therefore seeks to present an empirical investigation into the impact the twelve years existence of the Public Procurement Act has made on the twenty one (21) years of the DACF projects in the three (3) study areas namely Hohoe Municipal, Afadzato South and Jasikan Districts. Objectives guiding the work comprises ascertainment of stakeholders level of compliance of the Procurement Law in the implementation of DACF Projects, identification of any positive or negative effect of the PPA on DACF Projects, determine the challenges in the implementation of the DACF Projects and to also recommend ways through which the PPA could be used to enhance efficient and effective execution of the DACF. Purposive sampling method was adopted in selecting the sample for the study. The twenty- two (22) participants of the study were made up of District Chief Executives, Coordinating Directors, Procurement Officers, Finance, Works Engineers, Planning, Budget Officers and Internal Auditors. They all happened to be key managers (Procurement Officials) of the Assemblies who play key roles in their procurement matters. Questionnaire served as the tool for the data gathering exercise. The work largely revealed appreciable level of compliance with key requirements of the Procurement Act. It further revealed that though the Assemblies largely complied with key procurement requirements of the Act, they often procured outside their original Annual Procurement Plan, a practice the procurement law frowns on. Non availability of funds prior to procurement, non-compliance with contract terms of payment, misapplication of the DACF guideline where procurement allocated funds are either reduced or diverted for other interests, unauthorized procurement of non- prioritized items with payment deducted at source, coupled with untimely release of the DACF were some of the major findings identified to be affecting the prompt delivery of DACF procured projects. The study recommended that the Local Government Ministry made a policy which will seek to have payment for DACF contract sums exceeding one hundred thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS100, 000.00) to be deducted at source avoid misapplication by the Assemblies. It was further recommended that Internal Auditors who fail to carry out quarterly procurement audit be sanctioned. PPA to collaborate with the relevant authorities to sanction Assemblies which operated outside their Procurement Plans, and also fail to comply with contract terms of payment. No source deduction must be made without prior authorization of the District Assemblies. The study finally recommended that persons who may find the study interesting develop it on a wider scope by covering more of the 216 District Assemblies in the country. This may involve a wider stakeholder participation such as Assembly Members, Community Interest Groups and Civil Society Organizations where findings and recommendations will add up to knowledge on the impact of the PPA on the DACF projects.

Source: KNUST