The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has revealed that the savings made by his government, in 2017 alone, in the area of public procurement amounted to some GH¢800 million in 2017.

Contrasting this to what transpired under the government of former President John Dramani Mahama, President Akufo-Addo noted that, in 2016, a total of zero savings were made by the Public Procurement Authority.

President Akufo-Addo indicated that in 2016, a total of 622 Sole Source Requests were made, out of which 597 of that number, 98%, were approved, with 25 Rejections. Additionally, there were 592 Requests made for Restricted Tenders, and 587, representing 99.15% were approved, with only 5 Rejections, stating that “a grand total of zero savings was made.”

However, in 2017, his first year in office, the President indicated that 394 Sole Sourcing Requests were made, out of which 223 (56.6%) were approved, and 171 (43.4%) were rejected.

In addition to these, the President stated that there were 346 Requests for Restricted Tenders, out of which 167 (48%) were approved, and 179 (52%) rejected.

“Now here is the interesting part. The savings, made over the year as a result, amounted to some GH¢800 million,” the President said, on Thursday, 8th February, 2018, as he delivered his Message on the State of the Nation to Parliament.

Spectacular as the savings are, and with the figures being impressive, President Akufo-Addo told Parliament that “we have taken the lessons to heart, and continue to improve upon the government procurement process. I said I would protect the public purse, and that is exactly what I am doing.”

Thanks to these figures, President Akufo-Addo stated that “for the first time in a long while, we have been able to provide better budgetary support to the constitutionally-mandated institutions that hold government accountable, i.e. Auditor-General, Parliament, Judiciary, Ministry of Justice, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), and the Police. Again, nowhere near the levels we would all like, but, when you are starting from inside a deep hole, it takes a while to make an impression on the ground, and the good thing is that we are pointing in the right direction.”

The President added further that thanks to the diligence of the hardworking Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Hon. Ignatius Baffuor Awuah, MP for Sunyani West, Government has been able to transfer some GH¢3.1 billion of Tier 2 pension funds into the custodial accounts of the pension schemes of the labour unions, funds that have been outstanding for six years, and about which the labour unions had been loudly complaining.

“As a result of engagements with organised labour, we ensured that the National Daily Minimum Wage was determined and approved before the laying of the 2018 budget by the Minister for Finance, and, happily, Mr. Speaker, there were no strike actions last year. We will continue the constructive dialogue with organised labour to find mutually satisfactory solutions to their concerns, in order to guarantee industrial peace,” he added.