Comparative study of procurement planning practices of selected private and public procurement entities

Procurement planning is the primary function that sets the stage for subsequent procurement activities. A mistake in procurement planning therefore has wide implication for local governance in the public sector. Since the passing nto law of the Public Procurement Act in 2003, compliance to the law under Clause 21 of Act 663, which states that a procurement plan must be integrated into an annual sector expenditure programme to enhance financial predictability by public entities has been very challenging. The reasons for lack of procurement planning by such entities have been the actual lack of understanding of the value of procurement and proper enforcement of rules relating to planning. It could also relate to lack of capacity due to limited procurement professionals and lack of commitment and support from management of those organizations. There is a seeming success being chalked by most private institutions in project delivery. Academics, opinion leaders and other interested observers have expressed much concern about the fact that final cost of projects far exceeds budgets, so many delays in project implementation, so many abandoned projects due to lack of funding and these does not match expectation for development. It is in the light of the above that this research is being undertaken to compare the effectiveness of the private sector planning to that of the public sector. This research therefore aimed at identifying and documenting the procedures adopted by both the Public and Private companies in procurement planning. It is also to identify the relative importance of the challenges in the preparation and implementation of Procurement Plans and to recommend ways of improving the preparation and usage of Procurement Plans by the Public Institutions. The research begun with a literature search on Ghana’s local government structure procedures for the preparation and usage of procurement plans including their challenges. Observations through interviews were made and data were collected via questionnaires to selected private institutions in the telecommunication sector. Results were analysed statistically using descriptive statistics, and frequency analyses. The findings revealed that MMDAs are currently preparing their Procurement plans in accordance with the, PPA 663 but issues such as, late commencement in the preparation of the plans, identification of specific officers to lead in the preparation, low involvement of key players and non-submission of the approved procurement plans to the PPA still confronts them in the preparation of the plans. The private institutions were seen to use more softwares in planning whiles after budgeting the only plan upon the user departments request. The study also concluded that MMDAs utilized the procurement plans but are faced with a number of challenges. The study generally recommended that; 1. That the Public Procurement Authority must step up regular monitoring to MMDAs and educate more on the usage of the regulations and the manuals. 2. The Public entities should employ more professionals with procurement training to take up lead roles in ensuring compliance with the ACT 663.

Source: KNUST