Towards the improvement of works procurement planning by district assemblies in Ghana

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Date
November, 2016
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Abstract
There is a lot of public expenditure made by the various public institutions in Ghana in the area of procurement of works. The Local Government Bodies in the country which include the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies are no exception to the huge expenditure made in the procurement of works. Value for money, which is the foremost principle of procurement, is very much needed in the processes leading up to the procurement of these various works. The development and the implementation of effective and efficient procurement plans can lead to the optimization of allocated resources. However, the development of very sound procurement plan for the procurement of works has always been a problem to most people responsible for Procurement Activities within the Local Government setup in Ghana. The aim of this research therefore was to investigate towards the ways of improving works procurement planning by District Assemblies in Ghana. Hence, the specific objectives of the study included: the documentation of the processes and procedures adopted by District Assemblies in the preparation of their works procurement plans, the identification of key challenges associated with the procedures and processes documented and the identification of strategies to improve works procurement planning in the District Assemblies in Ghana. Quantitative approach was adopted for data collection from targeted respondents. Data generated from the survey were analyzed accordingly, using descriptive statistics as well as mean score ranking. The findings of the study indicates that drafting of procurement plan, acceptance of input from relevant agents (internal), requisition of input to the procurement plan, acceptance of input from relevant external agents, approval of procurement plan, review of procurement plan, updating of procurement plan, and publication of procurement plan were the processes and procedures adopted by District Assemblies in Ghana in the preparation of their works procurement plans. It also identified political interference, corrupt procurement practices, delay in release of funds, diversion of funds meant for scheduled procurement, unrealistic timelines, lack of adequate knowledge and skills in procurement and weak enforcement of Procurement Act as some of the key challenges affecting the processes and procedures in procurement planning in District Assemblies in Ghana. Finally, the study revealed, strict enforcement of procurement laws, interdepartmental coordination on developing plan, training and education procurement staff, minimal political interference, complete understanding of what is to be purchased, discuss procurement options and possible procurement methods and ability to keep accurate records as some of the strategies if adopted could help improve works procurement planning in District Assemblies in Ghana.
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A thesis submitted to the Department of Building Technology, College of Art and Built Environment in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science,
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