'Infractions on state resource spending won't be tolerated'

Accra, May 29, GNA- Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on Monday warned persons mandated to manage state resources that they would be held accountable for inefficiencies and wastage in government spending.

Thus, he has charged government appointees, heads and managers of public institutions to protect the public purse with integrity to ensure value for all public transactions.

The Vice President was speaking at the opening of a six-day capacity building workshop on the Public procurement Act and the Public Financial management Reforms for Ministers, Heads of Agencies and key Directors of State institutions in Accra.

The training, organised by the Public Procurement Authority, in collaboration with the Office of the President is aimed at shoring up the competence of government appointees and heads of institutions on the essential provisions of the Public Procurement law, the Public Financial Management Law and the budget preparation process in order to prevent infractions of those statutes.

Relating 90 percent of corruption cases to public procurement, the Vice President said Ghana's development agenda and the various initiatives being instituted by government to enhance the quality of life of the people were hinged on the effective implementation of the wider public financial management reforms and the current public procurement regime.

He said that given the non-negotiable significance of public procurement, and government's desire to doing state business on the right footing, government would pursue strictly and enforce its anti-corruption agenda through effective fiscal discipline.

Vice President Bawumia faulted the immediate previous administration for not exercising the expected discipline in fiscal governance, leading to allegations of abuse of the procurement process; particularly through the over reliance on the sole sourcing approach, saying that kind of abuse would not be tenable under the government of the New Patriotic party.

He charged the participants to rise above the 'rhetoric's' and top focus on greater performance that would deliver broader national outcomes for Ghana.

GNA

By Ken Sackey, GNA