Public procurement in Ghana

Law and regulator

The Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) received assent on 31 December 2003 ¹. The 2003 text set up a Public Procurement Board under section 1 ¹. The PPA publishes both the original Act and a reprint of Act 663 as amended by Act 914 ².

The Public Procurement (Amendment) Act 2016 (Act 914) received assent on 11 May 2016 and came into force on 12 May 2016, according to the Judy Legal provider page ³. The Public Procurement (Amendment) Act 2025 (Act 1139) received assent on 2 April 2025 ⁴. It inserts section 24A, under which an entity may not start a procurement that comes under the Authority or the central tender review committee without a commitment authorisation issued by the Minister ⁴.

Procurement methods

Section 35(1) of Act 663 requires competitive tendering except as provided in that Part ¹. The other methods in the 2003 text are listed below ¹.

• Two-stage tendering where detailed specifications are not feasible, section 36 ¹.
• Restricted tendering with approval, for example where only a limited number of suppliers exist, sections 38 and 39 ¹.
• Single-source procurement with approval, for example where only one supplier exists or in urgent or catastrophic cases, section 40 ¹.
• Request for quotations below the Schedule 3 amount, with quotations from at least three sources, sections 42 and 43 ¹.

Thresholds under L.I. 2516

The US International Trade Administration reported on 15 April 2026 that Parliament passed L.I. 2516 in February 2025 ⁵. It raised the thresholds above which international competitive tendering applies ⁵. Below them, goods are bought by national competitive tendering or requests for quotations ⁵.

Complaints and review

The PPA says a supplier, contractor or consultant may seek administrative review for unfair treatment in solicitation, evaluation or award, or for loss caused by a breach of Act 663 ⁶. In the 2003 text, a complaint went to the head of the entity within 20 days, and the head decided within 21 days ¹. A further review by the Board had to be decided within 21 days of starting it ¹. The PPA page does not state the current time limits ⁶.

Audit findings and proposed reforms

As reported by Jibril Abdul Mumuni of the Ghana News Agency on 23 July 2026, the Auditor-General's 2024 report said ECG breached procurement law in awarding 50 contracts worth over US$145 million for electricity meters ⁸. The same report found state institutions using single-source and restricted tendering without required approvals, the agency reported ⁸.

In the 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson proposed cutting the lead time for national competitive tendering of goods from 23 weeks to 8 weeks ⁸. He said urgency caused by poor planning would no longer justify single-source procurement ⁸. As reported by Julius Yao Petetsi of the Ghanaian Times on 1 April 2026, President John Dramani Mahama said the government would amend the Act to limit single sourcing ⁹.