The parliamentary group of the Party “Dignity and Truth Platform” (PPPDA) demands to ensure transparency in government procurement. It asked the Government and the Commission for Exceptional Situations to provide information about the government procurement procedures held to purchase protective equipment, IPN reports.

The group’s leader Alexandru Slusari said questions were put after having discussions with the Light Industry Employers Association and after examining a number of letters from enterprises operating in the textiles industry.

The PPPDA MPs ask why there are no certification standards with technical specifications for each type of consumables in medicine, why the price of equipment is the most important criteria when choosing the winner in government procurement as there are more cases when the imported masks and gloves, being of a poor quality, become worn-out swiftly, and others.

According to Alexandru Slusari, it is not clear why the raw material imported for making protective equipment and selling this inside the country is not exempted from VAT and customs duties. With exemptions, this equipment would be by about 20% cheaper.

“Why don’t they give priority to national textiles producers that provide about 30,000 jobs, which for their part ensure incomes for another tens of thousands of people, during the state of emergency?” asked the MP.