Press Release

 

 

Adopting the Public Procurement Law and resolving problems of the institutions

 

Organization Transparency – Serbia expects from National Assembly to vote for preposition of Public Procurement Law which Government of Serbia adopted last week. We consider that this is the regulation which will remove important dilemmas that occurred in implementation of law from 2002 till today and enable efficient protection of public resources from abuses.

 

Particularly significant is that by new law Commission for protection of Rights will be established as an independent state organ. We consider that its recent status was in inconsistency with role that it is performing, that is, with protection of bidders' and public interest from illegal decisions of authority organs and public enterprises. We assess, also, that mentioned preposition of Law prescribed in acceptable manner duties of Public Procurement Office, to which will be allowed – through giving certificates to public procurement servants and maintaining of public procurement portal – to influence on more quality implementation of law by procurement entities, and bidders and public to perform more efficient and cheaper insight into public procurement procedures.

 

However, no matter how much adoption of this law was significant step for fight against corruption and for the way towards European integrations, real progress in this area could be expected only when Government resolves problems which ignores for years and secures appropriate premises for work and stimulant conditions of employment in Commission for Protection of Rights, Public Procurement Office, State Audit Institution, internal audit organs and budget inspection, and when mechanisms of misdemeanor responsibility and proclaiming of annulling of illegally closed contracts on public procurements starts to function.

 

 

 

 

Transparency - Serbia

 

Belgrade , 19 September 2008.