Accra, June 1, GNA - Vodafone Ghana, a leading mobile telecommunications giant, has been awarded the "Best Procurement Community" at the Pan Africa Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply awards ceremony held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The winning submission outlined Vodafone Ghana's initiatives and successes in raising Health and Safety awareness and introducing best procurement practices across the community encompassing 1400 employees, 800 suppliers and the general public as a whole.

A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said Vodafone Ghana by the award had taken health, safety and ethical procurement practices to another level of its operations in Ghana.

It said the company was immensely proud that the implementation and insistence of standards in Ghana had resulted in some of their local partners championing this.

"We consider that reducing cost of doing business in Ghana is critical for the nation's pursuit of becoming investment destination in the sub-region," it said. The statement noted that upon entering into the Ghanaian telecommunications market, the company introduced a number of measures to ensure that, its operations and that of its suppliers conform to best and responsible business practices.

"These include streamlining its suppliers list and ensuring that only businesses with the requisite certification to operate under the Ghanaian laws including fulfillment of all tax obligations are maintained," it added. It said this was very crucial for good corporate governance in emerging markets, and Vodafone strongly believed it was the right thing to do as it makes them efficient, save cost and protect the image and integrity of the company and that of our suppliers.

It explained that Vodafone's insistent upon highest standards and policies have not only changed dangerous practices within the telecommunications sector, but across other sectors in the country.

The statement thanked all suppliers who have worked so hard to instill these rigorous standards in their work practices in Ghana. "This highly coveted Pan African Award is a testament to how far we have come and we are looking forward to working with our key suppliers to continue making Ghana a safe place to work," it said.