Only trained, ethical professionals must handle procurement - GIPS boss

To tackle the alarming rise in financial irregularities, chief executives and heads of both state and private institutions must take a keen interest and ensure that only fit and proper hands are recruited to run the procurement function of their organizations, Collins Agyemang Sarpong, President of the Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply (GIPS) has advocated.

“No square pegs in round holes; non-procurement professionals should stay away from heading and working in the procurement department of an organization,” he told journalists in an interview.

“Most of them [without the requisite expertise] become overwhelmed when faced with complex and technical procurement and contracting for goods, works and services,” he added.

According to Mr. Sarpong, procurement and supply, whether in a private or public organization, must be viewed as a strategic function that must be well managed by organizations to help achieve higher profitability and efficient use of financial resources.

“Is it not strange for organizations to lowly rank the managers of the function that controls about 50 to 70 % of organizations revenues or expenditure?”, he quizzed.

The GIPS boss asserted that procurement and inventory management are now a strategic function and therefore it would be suicidal to be left in the hands of any other staff or fresh graduate without the requisite expertise and experience.

Mr. Sarpong has therefore called for strong academia-industry collaboration to ensure a well-rounded education for procurement and supply students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

He further disclosed that the draft Procurement Practicing Bill—a bill to regulate and license the practicing of procurement in the country—is currently undergoing revisions and stakeholder reviews before heading to Parliament in the first quarter of this year.

GIPS boss picks top award

Meanwhile, the astute procurement practitioner has been recognized with the “Outstanding Professional Achievement in the Field of Marketing and Procurement” award at the Centenary Dinner and Awards Night organized by the Ghana Chapter of the University of Leicester (UK) Alumni Association, on the theme “The Future is Ours to Change. Celebration of 100 Years of Change’’.

The citation accompanying his award read: “This award is in recognition of your remarkable achievements, complemented by a history of outstanding contribution to the field of marketing and procurement throughout your career”.

“It feels good to have a totally different group of intellectuals to look at one of their own as an alumnus of University Leicester—the UK practicing in an entirely different field and recognize the strategic contributions this person is giving to the growth and development of our profession and country,” Mr. Sarpong said of the recognition.

He encouraged procurement and supply practitioners to be resolute in their daily dealings to do the right things and not succumb to pressures that will lead them to engage in unethical practices and activities which will go a long way to tarnish the image of the procurement profession.