Market Intelligence
Business and Professional Services Equipment and Machinery Public Sector Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Ghana Trade Practices Economic Development and Investment

Ghana Procurement

Ghana’s System of Public Procurement and Tender Management
General Principles  

Public Procurement in Ghana is governed by the Public Procurement Act of 2003 (Act No. 663) (the Act) as amended by the Public Procurement (Amendment) Act of 2016 (Act No. 914 – the Amendment Act).  It establishes the Public Procurement Authority as responsible for overseeing the procurement process and providing guidance to procuring entities.  The underlying principles of public procurement in Ghana are transparency, accountability, value for money, fairness, and non-discrimination, which are in line with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Procurement. There is a requirement for the process to be carried out through the competitive bidding process.  Government ministries, departments, agencies, and local governments have their own tender committees, which buy directly from suppliers.  

However, not all tenders must be internationally competitively tendered.  In fact, the World Trade Organization (WTO) assessed in 2022 that less than one percent of tenders conducted by the Government of Ghana are international competitive tenders. Further, Ghanaian law stipulates that purchases below a certain threshold are reserved for local companies. (Note: Ghana is not a party or observer to the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)).  

Exceptions to National Competitive Tendering 

Even in terms of national competitive tendering, the Amendment Act has two key exceptions. The first is that the Minister of Finance can direct the use of a less competitive procurement procedure (restrictive tendering, request quotations, and sole sourcing) when the Minister determines that it is in the national interest and he/she provides a justification to do so.  Second, a less competitive procurement procedure can be used if the goods, works, or services are financed by loans or aid granted under an international agreement that stipulates another method of procurement.  In effect, many tenders in Ghana are awarded on a sole-source basis.  Therefore, companies interested in participating in public procurements are encouraged to partner with local firms that have been given the mandate to develop specific projects. 

Margins of Preference for Local Goods and Services 

Goods that meet the local content requirements listed here can benefit from a 15-20% margin of preference in both national competitive tenders and international competitive tenders. 

Transparency and Finding Legitimate Tenders

To promote transparency, the Act requires that requests for tenders must be published in the Public Procurement Bulletin and on the Public Procurement Authority’s (PPA) website (https://ppa.gov.gh/).  The invitation to tender or pre-qualify must also be published in at least one daily newspaper with national circulation.  A procurement entity may opt to publish the invitation in an international newspaper or relevant international trade publication or technical or professional journal.

The PPA has also introduced the Ghana Electronic Procurement System or GHANEPS (https://www.ghaneps.gov.gh/).  This online portal displays all open government tenders that are subject to bidding.  Companies seeking opportunities should complete an online registration on the portal which will allow them to receive notification of all government tenders.  

Bid Criteria and Appeals 

The criteria for a successful bid is also set out in the Public Procurement Act, which states that the contracting authority shall make an award to the bidder with the lowest evaluated price.  This notwithstanding, there is the requirement of the procurement entity to determine if a bidder has quoted an abnormally low price.  There are provisions for addressing that circumstance.  The procuring entity must inform all unsuccessful bidders in writing on the outcome of the award.  There are specific appeal procedures that bidders can follow if they believe that there has been a violation of the law, which can result in the cancelation of the bid, compensation for reasonable costs incurred, and damages for losses suffered.  

Procurement as Primary Area of International Fraud  

Individuals claiming to be procurement agents in Ghana have led various scams targeting U.S. and other international companies, especially advance fee fraud scams.  U.S. companies receiving unsolicited requests for tenders in Ghana must exercise caution and are advised to conduct due diligence using the GHANEPS platform to determine the tender’s legitimacy. To see a non-exhaustive list of fake procurement entities and other red flags, please see: https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/ghana-scam-and-fraud-alert.  

More Information

To learn more about procurement opportunities and scams, U.S. companies can also reach out to the Commercial Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ghana at Office.Accra@trade.gov.  To see our other market intelligence reporting, please see https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence-search/633.
 

.