Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PanAvest International and Partners, has hinted that by end of 2025, procurement will become a vital aspect of Ghana’s industrial and socio-economic development.

According to Professor Douglas Boateng, government needs to start eliminating blockades that will threaten its chances of attaining this goal.

Outlining some strategies that must be adopted, he said, government must identify itself with the right partners, especially within the private sector to be able to hasten the procurement related human development capital.

The Supply and Value Chain Management expert also wants government to, by December 2020 elevate “qualified procurement functional custodians from the backroom into the decision making room. That’s current qualified CPOs and CSOs in public must report directly to the CEOs, Managing Directors, or the Director-General”.

Prof. Boateng also disclosed that for Ghana to benefit from the industrial transformation, all public and private sector procurers will be mandated to acquire a licence from locally recognised professionals before they are allowed to operate.

He added that, “Policy makers and academies must advocate the urgent need for a common vocabulary for procurement and various aspects of supply chain management. The outfit to support the Minister of State for public sector procurement must be well resourced and funded so that the unit can truly support public sector related transformational efforts.”