Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi is the PPA Board Chair
Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Chairman of the newly inaugurated Board of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), has pledged to end “shortcuts” in procurement at the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the state.
According to Professor Ameyaw-Ekumfi, for the public purse to be truly protected, procurement irregularities need to be eliminated.
“We are going to work with the law, and all the shortcuts in procurement will be done away with to assist the President and his government in ensuring that the public purse is indeed protected,” he assured.
The former Member of Parliament for Techiman North gave the assurance at the swearing in of the 9-member PPA Board yesterday.
Other members of the Board are Diana Asonaba Dapaah, a Deputy Minister of Justice and Attorney, Frank Mantey, Hayford Amoh, Ernestina Swatson Eshun, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, Samuel Richard New Baidoo, Isaac Kofi Amoah and Patricia Sarfo.
Prof Ameyaw-Ekumfi, who is a former Minister of Education in the erstwhile Kufuor government, said issues of procurement remain very sensitive to the citizenry, hence the need to treat them with diligence to ensure value for money for the country.
He observed that the Auditor-General’s reports, over the years, had been awash with procurement breaches, causing the state to lose thousands of cedis. He assured that he would lead the PPA Board to work at eliminating the practice.
Swearing in the Board members, a Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr John Kumah, said the PPA Board plays a pivotal role in the application of the public financial management regime. He accordingly charged the Board members to endeavour to live up to that expectation.
“You have an enormous task not only in ensuring that the Authority successfully achieves its mandate but also working to improve its image and the procurement profession in our country,” Dr Kumah stressed.
The MP for Ejisu said the government expects the Prof Ameyaw-Ekumfi-chaired Board to “be one which continuously strives for innovation and sustainability in the conduct of procurement through electronic systems to ensure greater transparency, accountability and value for money”.
Profile of Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi
Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi was born on 21 August 1945 at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region.
He attended the Adisadel College in Cape-Coast for his GCE O’ and A’ Levels before entering the University of Ghana in 1965 obtaining a B.Sc. Hons in Zoology in 1969.
He pursued his Masters in Zoology at the same university and completed the course in a year in 1970.
He left the shores of Ghana for the United States, specifically the University of Michigan in 1972, where he spent four years studying for MS in Zoology and a Ph.D. in Zoology.
He co-coordinated the introduction of the Semester and Course Unit System at the University of Cape-Coast as well as the production of academic programmes for the University College of Education, Winneba in the Central Region.
He chaired various committees at the university and acted as Vice-Chancellor in the absence of the substantive Vice-Chancellor during his tenure as the Pro Vice-Chancellor.
One significant activity he undertook in relation to higher education, when he served as the Chairman of the Committee to Review Staffing in the Polytechnics, was to present a lead paper on Decentralization at the University at a seminar for university administration under the auspices of the Tertiary Education Project.
Until his appointment as the Minister of Education, and later as the Minister Ports, Harbour and Railways, in the Kufuor government, he was the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service.
