Expert-Grup

Public Procurement Reform in the Republic of Moldova: A Reform with Backlogs

Tuesday, 30 May 20177257 views
Public Procurement Reform in the Republic of Moldova: A Reform with Backlogs

Automatically translated summary. The full article is available in Romanian.

Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” economist Iurie Morcotîlo argues in his latest publication that Moldova's public procurement reform remains half-finished. Despite the EU Association Agreement and the new procurement law, the National Authority for Complaint Resolution (ANSC) has still not been created, leaving the system without a dedicated body for handling complaints for over a year.

Without the ANSC, businesses can only turn to the courts. In 2015, 743 complaints were filed, around 7-8% of all procurement procedures annually. Under the new law, from 1 May 2016 the Public Procurement Agency no longer handles complaints; the ANSC was due to be operational from 1 January 2017 but has not been established.

The author warns of several risks: undermined business confidence in the ANSC's impartiality, suspicions of hidden interests in selecting complaint advisers, and corruption, collusion or schemes that only simulate competition, as disadvantaged firms probably avoided lengthy, complex court cases. Without a genuine appeals mechanism, gains in aligning with European rules and in e-procurement transparency remain fragile. He urges Parliament to speed up establishing the ANSC and to ensure its independence and functionality.

View the original article in Romanian