Elmina – August 2 – 6, 2021: The Office of the Head of Local Government Service (OHLGS) has completed the second phase in the series of trainings on Project and Contract Management for key officers of MMDAs namely Coordinating Directors, Engineers and Procurement Officers. The trainings were clustered into 10 zones of which the programme in Elmina was for Zone 7 and Zone 8 (MMDAs in the Greater Accra and Central Regions). In all, a total of 198 officers participated in the training.
The Head of Local Government Service (LGS), Ing. Dr. Nana Ato Arthur in an address to open the training session, underscored the importance of the training to an institution such as the LGS, the absence of which has resulted in non-achievement of value for money in the execution of contracts. He described the situation where projects are left abandoned and left at the mercy of the vagaries of the weather as pathetic. He encouraged participants to take the training seriously to equip themselves adequate knowledge to withstand any undue pressure that may likely lead to poor contract management. He said the case of poor contract management does not only adversely affect Assemblies in the allocation of performance-based grants but also denies the citizenry of value for money. He challenged participants to be firm and ensure that initiated projects are successfully completed and in use before new ones are commenced.
The Regional Coordinating Director for the Central Region, Mr Kingsley Boahene welcomed participants on behalf of the Regional Minister appreciated the efforts of the OHLGS for the proactive manner in which capacity gaps are identified to inform training programmes to build the capacities of staff for optimum performance of duties. Contract management according to him is the heart beat of any procurement process as it determines how efficient and effective a procurement system is and a means of ensuring value. A poor or no contract management process he said, can cost organizations fortunes. He admonished participants to actively participate in the workshop, build network and share experiences.
The sessions were facilitated by staff of the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) and the Public Procurement Authority (PPA). Some topics treated were an Overview of Local Government Projects and Contracts; The Role of Key Stakeholders and Actors in Contract Administration; Project cycle Management; Contract Principles; Basics of Contract Administration, Forms and Conditions of Standard Contract; Contract Administration Process and Monitoring Contract Performance and Reporting.
Others topics considered included Managing Contract Changes and Variations; Funding, Payments, Claims and Settlement of Disputes; Termination of Contracts and Managing Risks in Contracts; Contract Performance Monitoring and Control; Post-Implementation Tasks; Procurement Fraud and Ethics and Post Training Action Planning to deal with emerging audit issues. Participants were also performed group assignments which were presented at plenary. The presentations were interspersed with open forums that allowed for provision of a platform to address the issues and concerns of participants.
The Head of Service in closing the training sessions remarked that participants ought to be committed to work, implement all that has been learnt and collaborate with others to avoid infractions within the Service.
The 5th and 6th Zones were concurrently held in Tamale for participants from the Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West Regions.