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Yet another threat to public procurement procedure

17.12.2012    source: newcitizen.org.ua

A number of NGOs, including those monitoring corruption in Ukraine, have addressed an open appeal to the President asking him to take immediate measures to safeguard public procurement procedure. 

From 1 January 2013 all those undertaking public procurement must begin holding reverse electronic auctions in accordance with the Public Procurement Law.

Less than a month remains to this date, yet neither the Cabinet of Ministers nor the Economic Development and Trade Ministry have passed the key normative acts without which the system of electronic auctions is impossible.  These include:

the list of goods, work and services with which this electronic auction is mandatory;

regulations for the work of these electronic platforms;

requirements to them, including the conditions for their functioning and their operator;

rules of procedure for keeping a record of such platforms and operators and including or removing people from this register.

The authors write that even if all is done urgently now, the result will be shoddy and will result in poor quality public procurement, corruption and infringements of legislation.

The situation, they say, is even worse since regional bodies and bodies of local self-government are also not prepared for such procedure.  At the end of November, more than half of the local bodies did not have an electronic digital signature which is one of the key requirements.

It can be assumed, they say, that the readiness of most schools and hospitals is even worse, yet it is they who are responsible for ongoing procurement of medication, petrol for ambulances and food for schools.

With neither central nor local authorities ready for the electronic auctions, the authors suggest an amendment to the Law enabling deferment of the law’s entry into force, and emergency measures to ensure that the system can be introduced properly.

The appeal is signed by Transparency International, Ukraine; the Open Society Foundation’s Partnership for Honest Public Procurement; the Civil Liberties Centre; Internews Ukraine; UA Centre; and the Youth NGO Slavis VINNYTSA. 

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