The legislation of the Republic of Moldova provides details about the rules of the game for the authorities responsible for public procurement, but refresher courses are yet needed for public servants so that these know how the law should be implemented, considers Estonian expert Hannes Aarma, who was selected by the European Union and has counseled the Government of Moldova for several months about the use of external assistance, IPN reports.

In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Hannes Aarma said the Moldovan authorities took a number of measures to build the external partners’ confidence. Among these was the adoption of a law that is designed to strengthen the public procurement practices in the county. “If the law is approved and applied rigorously, we can speak about compliance with the practices of the European Union in this field,” stated the adviser.

According to him, the financial control and audit must be consolidated. Only this way will the external partners be sure that the Republic of Moldova spends the external funds according to the agreements. The authorities must rigorously monitor the way in which the public sector uses this money so that the rules are not on paper only, but are also carried out.

The expert noted that in the Republic of Moldova there are two weak points in the public procurement process. First of all, the functionaries not always clearly describe the requirements towards companies. This brings more confusion and delays government procurement. Secondly, these conditions are biased and are aimed at well-known players so that these sign contracts in exchange of particular favors. This is practically an act of corruption.