The obliging of the contracting authorities to include representatives of civil society in the working groups is the most important innovation of the new Law on Public Procurement. Such regulations didn’t exist in the old law, deputy head of the Regulation and Control Division of the Public Procurements Agency Gheorghe Ghidora said in a press club meeting staged by the Independent Journalism Center and the Association for Efficient and Responsible Governance. According to him, the new law devotes greater attention to the conflict of interests, IPN reports.
Gheorghe Ghidora said that until now the NGOs could not take part in the public procurement procedures. “Law No. 131 removes this shortcoming. Thus, the public organizations that provide services can take part in the public procurement process,” he explained, noting that the new law transposes Directive 18 of the EU, as Moldova pledged to do by signing the Association Agreement with the EU.
Independent Journalism Center head Cornelia Cozonac said the public procurement sector is affected by corruption, different dubious schemes and aspects that are not clear enough for journalists. “The subject is very important because the purchases are made with public money, which is the money of taxpayers. We, the journalists, want to be better informed so as to create professional products,” she stated.
According to Natalia Trofim, division head at the Audit Office, the new law excludes a number of risks that affected the management of money used in the government procurement process. “We think transparency will be increased in this process which is now transparent only up to the applicant selection stage. Afterward, when we reach the stage of fulfillment of contract clauses, there is not much transparency there,” she said.
Head of the Association for Efficient and Responsible Governance Olesea Stamati said this law should have more clearly defined the right to information about public procurement. “Of the ten authorities that we monitor, only three offered us access to information. The other seven refused to provide information about the procurement contracts, at least partial. This is a serious hindrance in the process of ensuring transparency in the public procurement process,” she stated.
The new Law on Public Procurement was adopted by Parliament last July and will take effect on May 1, 2016.
