Procurement must be used to accelerate economic growth, Finance Minister says

Ghana’s government spends billions of cedis each year on goods, works and services for schools, hospitals, security services and other public institutions. Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson says that spending should do more than meet government needs: it should help build the country’s industries.

“The government does not only spend; the government creates markets,” Forson said in an address delivered on his behalf by Finance Ministry Coordinating Director David Klotey Collison. He was speaking at a national procurement and supply chain conference in Accra organized by the Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply.

Forson called for public procurement to support local production, create jobs, strengthen businesses and retain value within Ghana’s economy. He said the country could not achieve sustainable prosperity by exporting raw materials, importing finished goods and treating public spending as separate from domestic production.

Linking procurement with industrial policy, he said, could give local companies reliable markets, encourage investment and deepen value chains. Businesses would be more likely to invest in machinery, technology, workers and certification if they could rely on credible and predictable demand.

The minister said Ghana’s commitment to local procurement must be measurable. He proposed using the Ghana Electronic Procurement System, or GHANEPS, to track the number and value of contracts awarded to Ghanaian firms, their delivery performance and their ability to compete in export markets.

He identified agriculture and food processing, pharmaceuticals, textiles and garments, construction and digital services as sectors where strategic procurement could strengthen local value chains. Purchases by schools, hospitals and security services, he said, could connect farmers with processors, packaging companies, cold-chain operators and transport businesses.

The two-day conference, held at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, brought together procurement professionals, policymakers, business leaders, academics and development partners. GIPS President Simon Annan said it gave stakeholders an opportunity to examine procurement’s role in national development.

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The government does not only spend; the government creates markets.