Implementation Challenges of the Public Procurement Act by Selected Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the Ashanti Region, Ghana

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the implementation challenges of the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The key issues examined in the study are the level of knowledge, the procedure and modalities of compliance with the Act and the challenges of implementing the Procurement Act by the procurement committee members. Purposive sampling was adopted in selecting fourteen MMDAs while simple random procedure was used to sample members of the procurement committee at the selected MMDAs for the study. Questionnaires and focus group discussion were used to collect data and information from the respondents. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that a large proportion of the procurement committee members could not explain key sections of the Act. In all the sampled MMDAs respondents claimed to follow procedure required by the Act. However, they enumerated the following as the key challenges with regards to the compliance of the Act: political interference, unqualified staff, and lack of monitoring as well as inadequate motivation for the committee members. There is a need for the MMDAs to take steps to address these challenges.