‘Local consulting firms have capacity to deliver’

The Government must begin to engage the services of local consultants with the requisite expertise before inviting foreign firms to undertake projects that can be handled by the  firms, Mr Patrick Ofei, Senior Manager ShawbellConsulting, has said.

He said many projects won by foreign consultancy firms in Ghana were in turn sub-contracted to the local firms, who not only had the professional competencies to deliver but also had adequate knowledge of the country’s local circumstances.

Foreign consultancy

Speaking in an interview with the media to mark the company’s 14 years of operations, in Accra, Mr Ofei  said the practice of engaging foreign consultancy firms to the detriment of local ones must be reviewed to enable local consulting firms to realise their full potential and contribute meaningfully to national development.

Mr Ofei said, “We have been confronted with the major issue of being tagged a local company and this can result in being denied some opportunities to provide relevant services for national development.” 

“The government, who is the major beneficiary of consultancy assignments, must begin to trust the indigenous consulting industry here in Ghana. To some extent, we have had cause to believe that the government feels more comfortable working with the international firms who tend to come at a higher price as well,” he said. 

“Over the years, potential clients, including the government, have resorted to procuring the services of foreign firms to provide services that locally-owned firms such as ShawbellConsulting are well poised to provide”.

He argued that local firms retained their earnings in the local economy while most foreign firms repatriated their earnings, putting more pressure on the Ghana cedi.

Competence

Mr Ofei said, “There is a general perception that foreign consulting firms are well-resourced and able to deliver better services than local consulting firms. Thus, some consulting assignments are deemed to be the sole preserve of foreign firms. It is worth noting that Shawbell Consulting possess a comparable level of competence in professional services delivery, and even more when it comes to the local situation, together with the skills and resources required to provide consulting services at the highest level.”  

Mr Richard Torkornoo, Director, Ghana Institute of Consulting, also echoed the need for local consulting firms to be trusted and be engaged to provide consulting services.

“Our performance over the years has surpassed the expectations of some of our major clients, including the government of Ghana, donor partners, multinational corporations and those in the private sector. We usually strive to exceed the requirements of our client’s terms of reference by incorporating best-practices and our proprietary models. These methodologies could result in costs overruns, but our quality standards are not compromised,” he said.

Mr Julian Boakye, a Senior Consultant at ShawbellConsulting, commenting on the prospects of the company, said, “Our unique business model which is anchored in Institutional Reform, Legal Consulting and Capacity Building has positioned us for success, as we draw on our synergistic advantages”.

On achievements, he said the firm had successfully provided legal services to corporate clients in the oil and gas industry, reviewed and drafted critical legislations for the Health and Financial Sectors, restructured government ministries departments and agencies (MMDA’s), and  provided training and capacity building to numerous participants from all sectors.