Promoting a Competitive Local Business Community in Ghana: The Role of the Legal Framework for Public Procurement

Abstract

Ghana's Public Procurement Act 2003 was enacted to bring about the judicious, economic and efficient use of state resources, transparency, fairness, and non-discrimination in procurement. The primary objective of the act is best value for money. This article assesses how, beyond being used to achieve its primary objective, the law should be applied to propel the capacity and competitiveness of local businesses in Ghana. It argues that effective implementation of the act can indirectly promote competition and industrial competiveness in Ghana. Therefore, procurement entities must follow the requirements for procurement, both to achieve best value for money and to build and improve upon the capacity of domestic industries. Competition, transparency and restrictions on the application of single-source procurement and restricted tendering can promote and encourage the participation of Ghanaian firms in procurement. This can enhance their capacity and competitiveness in both procurement...