By Morkporkpor Anku/ Grace Yayra Kagatse
Accra, Oct. 3, GNA – The Energy Commission has urged procuring entities in the electricity supply industry to integrate local content requirements into procurement processes from the outset to promote Ghanaian participation and value retention.
Ms Adwoa Serwaa Bondzie, Acting Executive Secretary of the Commission, said local content requirements should be reflected in bidding documents, Local Content and Local Participation Plans and bid evaluation criteria.
She made the call at a workshop on bid evaluation in the electricity supply industry organised by the Commission’s Local Content and Local Participation Unit in Accra.
She said procurement decisions in the electricity supply industry had implications beyond the award of contracts, affecting infrastructure quality, reliability, value for money, local businesses, job creation and the retention of economic value in Ghana.
Ms Bondzie said the sector was one of the most capital-intensive areas of the economy, with significant public and private resources invested annually in generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, equipment, technology and professional services.
She said the Energy Commission (Local Content and Local Participation) (Electricity Supply Industry) Regulations, 2017 (L.I. 2354), was therefore an economic development instrument rather than merely an administrative requirement.
She said the regulations sought to maximise the use of Ghanaian financial capital, expertise, goods and services while building the capacity and competitiveness of local enterprises and professionals.
Ms Bondzie said local content could not be introduced after a procurement decision had been made, but had to be incorporated into the procurement process from the beginning.
She said the requirements must be reflected in bidding documents, demonstrated through Local Content and Local Participation Plans, assessed during bid evaluation and monitored during contract implementation.
She said since the inauguration of the current Local Content Committee by the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Dr John Jinapor, the Commission had intensified efforts to ensure compliance with local content requirements.
Ms Bondzie said the Commission expected commitments on Ghanaian participation, local procurement, technology and knowledge transfer, employment and capacity development to be credible, measurable and implementable.
She said the approach was consistent with the Government’s Reset Agenda, which sought to use major investments to strengthen domestic productive capacity.
She said major electricity projects and procurement should, where required by law and opportunities existed, result in stronger Ghanaian companies, increased technical expertise, skilled jobs, technology transfer and stronger domestic supply chains.
Ms Bondzie said bid evaluation was a critical stage where policy commitments and regulatory requirements were translated into actual procurement outcomes.
She urged evaluators to ensure that processes remained fair, transparent and competitive, while assessing local content requirements with the same seriousness as technical and financial criteria.
She said effective implementation of L.I. 2354 would contribute to an efficient and competitive electricity supply industry while supporting Ghana’s broader economic transformation.
Mr. Michael Nii Amui Amui, the Coordinator for the Local Content Unit, said the workshop was to equip participants with knowledge on what the law expects during procurement.
He said the workshop was to equip partners with knowledge on the rules that apply when procurements were taking place.
He said participants would also learn how to lodge complaints when unqualified firms were awarded contracts, leading to investigations and sanctions.
Madam Thecla Wricketts, Lead Counsel of TJ Wricketts, who partnered the Commission for the workshop, said the sensitisation was crucial because the energy sector wass highly regulated.
GNA
Edited By Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Morkporkpor Anku
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