The findings which were conducted in seven African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Sierra Leon, Kenya, Cameroon, Liberia) discovered lack of transparency and accountability for covid-related expenditure. “While most countries signed up to processes such as open contracting and beneficial ownership in accessing the funds, there has not been full compliance as seen in the obvious gaps,” the CTAP report said. Out of the many government contracts awarded during the pandemic, details about a handful can be seen on the e-procurement platform created to facilitate public procurement processes and reduce human interface which breeds corruption. “During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, only few contracts were published on the portal, other public contracts during the period were not published,” the research found. CTAP however, hailed the government for adopting electronic platforms in the application and disbursement of the GH¢600 million CAP-BuSS support scheme to Small and Medium-size Enterprises.

Source: GhanaWeb July 08, 2021 07:30 UTC