The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) on Friday presented the draft amendments to act 663 of the Public procurement act to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in Accra.

The need for the amendment was to remove operational inefficiencies which hindered the smooth implementation of the Act, since its inception in 2004.

Dr Kwabena Duffuor, the Sector Minister, who made this known in a media encounter, noted that the amendment was designed to, among other things, overcome some recognised flaws like the decentralisation of the public procurement process to allow greater autonomy to the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies.

According to him, the amendment would also increase the thresholds in line with prevailing market trends to allow more flexibility in decision making for the purchase of smaller ticket items.

Dr Duffuor stated that the amendment process was very crucial and needed to be given the attention it deserved, adding that the draft would be forwarded to parliament before it goes on recession on December 17.

Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, Chief Executive of the PPA, indicated that the amendment process was done through consultative procedures among the Board, management and staff, procurement experts, practitioners and other interest groups.

He said a new subsection had been introduced to make the PPA Manuals, Regulations, Guidelines and Regulatory Notices an integral part of the main Act 663.

According to him, government had introduced a new provision to encourage the growth of the private sector through the processes of the public procurement. Mr Sallas-Mensah expressed the hope that the amendment, which was made to conform to international best practices, would receive affirmation and encourage institutions such as the World Bank and other development partners to adopt Ghana’s procurement system.