The Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST) in conjunction with the Procurement Office of the University of Ghana organised a forum on Wednesday 8th June 2016 to devised systems needed to streamline the procurement of chemicals, reagents and glassware for research and practical sessions which has been a major challenge due to numerous bottlenecks in the procurement system.
Representatives from the Finance Directorate, the University of Ghana Computing Systems, Department of Computer Science and five suppliers, met to discuss modalities for fast tracking the procurement of reagents, chemicals and glassware for the University of Ghana.
Mrs. Angela Awere-Kyere, Head of Procurement Office addressing the meeting
The representative from the procurement office of the University of Ghana hinted that, the new procurement law has brought about long delays in the procurement process adding that, there are times when orders were fulfilled after the semester was over.
Thus, in order to overcome these challenges, the procurement office applied for a special dispensation from the National Procurement Authority to be given a leeway to engage directly with suppliers of chemicals, reagents and glassware. The IAST together with the procurement office compiled a list of all chemical requirements for the various departments within the College of Basic and Applied Sciences and the College of Health Sciences and The University of Ghana Computing Systems as well the Department of Computer Science were tasked to develop an online platform that will enable the departments through their Heads and Deans to make their requisitions directly from the platform which is then sent to IAST for validation before the order is placed by procurement. The Finance office will confirm the availability of funds and make the necessary payments within a 60-Days period with the IAST monitoring the performance of the vendors once the system is operationalized.
Group Photograph with Prequalified vendors
With the new system, suppliers would be given a list of chemicals, reagents and glassware they are supposed to supply for an entire academic year, while the University places orders to the suppliers as and when the chemicals are needed by departments. This new initiative, will ensure that departments get their supplies on time to facilitate the teaching of practical and research.