The efforts of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Minister of State in Charge of Public Procurement, Sarah Adwoa Safo, toward transforming the procurement sector, have been recognised with the two receiving honours at the maiden Ghana Procurement & Supply Chain Awards 2018.

While President Akufo-Addo picked the Outstanding Change Leadership Award, Ms. Safo received the prestigious Sustainable Procurement Transformation Award.

The award for the president was received on his behalf by Ms Safo who is also the Deputy Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament.

The awards night, which was organised by InstinctWave at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, Friday, 7 September 2018, also had some individuals and institutions that have distinguished themselves in the procurement sector, being honoured.

Addressing the gathering as the Guest of Honour, Ms Safo said professionals in the procurement business, both public and private, would soon be measured to determine the level of their performance in whatever field they operate.

To roll out this activity, she said a Professional Ethics and Standards Committee has been set up by her Ministry to properly draft a comprehensive document on the acceptable ethics and standards to guide the players in the procurement business.

“These standards would be the basis for bench-marking the performance of all procurement practitioners in this country”, she noted.

Commenting further, the Dome Kwabenya MP spelt out the mandate of her Ministry and distinguished it from that of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), insisting the two are not at cross purposes.

“Our role does not conflict at all with that of the PPA. Our mandate is to develop new policies and assist government set the proper strategies in procurement to enhance the implementation of the Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as amended”, she explained.

She thanked the organisers of the event for coming out with such an initiative to recognise the efforts of individuals and institutions that are doing their best to transform the procurement sector.