Procurement has been identified as the sleeping giant, which, when awakened, could drive the government’s reset agenda, propel industrialization, and boost the overall economic growth and development of the country.
At the 2025 National Procurement and Supply Conference, Prof. Douglas Boateng, a distinguished fellow of the Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply (GIPS), challenged policymakers, practitioners, and industry leaders to reimagine procurement as more than a transactional activity.
The expert maintains that procurement goes beyond just buying. He reveals that professional procurements clarify requirements and decide how to procure, from whom, where, and why, after which finance processes the payments.
For him, procurement is the sleeping giant of Africa’s development and reset agenda, and its awakening could be the key to achieving Agenda 2063, the Africa we all desire.
Turning Budgets into Bridges, Clinics, and Jobs
Prof. Boateng underscored that procurement controls a massive share of public spending, often determining whether budgets translate into real outcomes or wasted potential.
He insists that when procurement works, “budgets become bridges, clinics, classrooms, factories, and jobs,” but when it fails, those same budgets become “headlines and disappointment.”
In simple terms, procurement decides whether government spending touches the lives of citizens meaningfully or gets lost in inefficiency.
Professionalism: The Missing Link
Despite its central role, Prof. Boateng lamented that most procurement activities in developing economies are led by unlicensed practitioners, many lacking certification, enforceable codes of conduct, or even clear guidance.
Without professionalisation, he warned, confusion, waste, and poverty are sustained. “In the absence of a licensed procurement professional, unnecessary waste becomes commonplace, and sub-optimal decisions are made,” he stressed.
Procurement as Policy in Action
Speaking at the conference, Prof. Boateng said that in advanced economies, procurement is already recognized as the bridge between policy and real-world outcomes. It ensures that government priorities are delivered efficiently and equitably.
Ghana and Africa, Prof. Boateng argued, cannot afford to treat procurement as “just buying.”
With governments across the continent seeking to industrialize, attract investment, and reset their economies, professionalised procurement could become the lever that channels public funds into lasting development.
The Bottomline
For Ghana’s reset agenda to succeed, procurement reform must go beyond rhetoric. It requires new laws, enforceable standards, a culture of accountability, and pride in the profession.
Above all, Prof. Douglas Boateng said it requires recognizing procurement not as an administrative afterthought, but as a central driver of industrialization and economic resilience.
As he puts it plainly, the government should never underestimate the value of procurement since it holds the key to industrialization and economic growth.
