Ghana assists Liberia to build Procurement Capacity

In furtherance of procurement reforms in the West African sub-region, the World Bank is supporting an initiative in which the Government of Ghana, represented by the Ghana Public Procurement Authority (PPA) is sharing a full set of procurement curriculum and training materials with the Government of Liberia, as represented by the Liberia Public Procurement and Concessions Commission. On Tuesday September , 2011 the sponsors of the Ghana Procurement Capacity Program (Millennium Development Authority (MIDA) of Ghana, with funding through Millennium Challenge Corporation of the USA (MCC)) presented copies of the soft and hard copies to the World Bank procurement team in Accra, Ghana who have facilitated this international cooperation. The materials developed are for tertiary level education in Ghana for students specializing in procurement, which are now, to be adapted and made available for the training of procurement professionals in Liberia. The set of materials, including curricula and modules as well as accompanying lecture notes in both hard and soft copies were handed over to the Lead Procurement Specialist of the World Bank, Mr. Allan Rotman by the Chief Executive of MiDA, Mr. Martin Esson Benjamin at the MiDA offices in Accra on the 20th of September 2011. Also present at the ceremony was Mr. Charles Taylor, Procurement Specialist of the World Bank, Mr. Mathew Armah, Chief Operating Officer, MiDA, Ms. Mary Jo Johnson, Procurement Director, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Mr. Vidal Creppy, Procurement Director, MiDA, Mr. David Benin, Director, Capacity Development & Human Resources of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) who represented the Chief Executive, PPA and Mr. Carl Lokko, Project Coordinator, MiDA. In presenting the materials, the CEO of MiDA, Mr. Martin Eson Benjamin noted: procurement is a major challenge facing the smooth implementation of development projects and programs in our part of the world. We at MiDA made it a priority to develop these materials for our own use, and we are happy that they can be useful to our neighbors in Liberia.

Mr. Alan Rotman (second Left) receiving copies of the lecture notes from

Mr. Martin Eson Benjamin (fifth right), while Mr. Charles Taylor (first left)

displays a set of the Curricula and Modules. Others in the picture

include Mr. Vidal Creppy (first right), Mr Carl Lokko (third right) and

Ms. Mary Jo Johnson (third left)

Under the Public Procurement and Concession Law, it is mandatory that each Procurement Unit be staffed with persons trained and knowledgeable in procurement to carrying out, on an ongoing basis, functions to ensure prudence in procurement. However, the requisite knowledge and skills to perform public procurement efficiently and effectively are currently very low. The main challenges for the professionalization of the procurement function are: (i) the unavailability of regular in-country training opportunities in procurement, and (ii) the lack of clear entry requirements and career paths for personnel who perform procurement functions in the public service. To deal with these challenges, the Economic Governance Institutional Renewal Project (EGIRP of Liberia funded by the World Bank) will also support in-service training of existing procurement officers in ministries and agencies to improve their performance as well as support the professionalization of the public procurement function in Liberia.