Mahama wants margin of preference under Procurement Act moved

President John Dramani Mahama has advocated for an upward adjustment of the margin of preference given to local content under the Public Procurement Act.

The president is proposing that the threshold should be pegged at 20 percent from the about existing 12-15 percent.

Section 60 (1) of Act 663 states that “A procurement entity may grant a margin of preference for the benefit of tenders for work by domestic contractors or for the benefit of tenders for domestically produced goods or for the benefit of domestic suppliers of services.”

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Bridget Otoo on TV3 New Day on Monday, President Mahama said the increase would make Ghanaian products competitive.

“To make Ghanaian product more competitive, you give them a certain percentage. I think that that percentage should even be increased to about 20 percent.

“If even a Ghanaian product is 20 percent more expensive than a foreign product, because it manufacturer is creating jobs in our economy we should go for their Ghanaian product.”

However, President Mahama noted, Ghanaians, especially government agencies’ budget cost will go up if we are to give preference to local products that are often expensive.

“If Ghanaian product is far more expensive than the foreign product then it means we must be prepared to buy it and that is going to come out of the consolidated fund,” he underscored.

President Mahama also indicated that his call for the increment is influenced by government’s “deliberate policy to give advantage to Ghanaian businesses”.

He therefore prayed that persons working to amend the Public Procurement Act, 2003 Act 663 would do well to fix the "loopholes” in the Act for Parliament to ratify it.