Representatives of civil society and journalists from the Republic of Moldova will monitor the procurement process in our country and will provide recommendations for improving communication with the authorities and strengthening the integrity of public procurement. This will become possible thanks to a new project implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) from the USA.

The project "Increasing the integrity in public procurement" will be implemented by February 2023 and aims to support public procurement reforms. This will be achieved through a comprehensive training program for civil society organizations and journalists on public procurement monitoring. Also, the selected organizations and journalists will receive support and expertise in the procurement monitoring process, both nationally and locally. To monitor public procurement, participants will receive sub-grants from IDIS "Viitorul". Thus, at least 15 Moldovan organizations (NGOs and journalists) will be trained to identify and document abuses and irregularities in procurement procedures conducted by contracting authorities in key sectors, but also to report them to control and law enforcement institutions.

At the same time, the recommendations made by the representatives of the civil society after the procurement monitoring process will be sent to the responsible entities and the decision-makers in order to examine and undertake actions to improve the situation, thus making the involved authorities more accountable. The result would be a more efficient use of public money and a better provision of goods, works and services to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

In the past years, the national public procurement system has been in the process of reform and transformation, both at the level of legislation and at the level of process. However, public procurement is still a vulnerable area to the risks of fraud and corruption, which is relevant in both civil society reports, the investigative press and the authorities' reports. As a result, the role of civil society watchdog is becoming increasingly relevant through its contribution to increasing transparency, strengthening integrity and reporting abuses and illegalities. Therefore, it is essential to develop the capacity of civil society organizations, providing them with the knowledge and skills to professionally and responsibly monitor public procurement at all stages.

……………..

The project “Increasing the integrity in public procurement” is implemented by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with Partnership for Transparency Fund (USA). It aims to support the procurement reforms in Moldova that will increase transparency and fairness of public procurement through empowering citizens to hold relevant institutions accountable.

IDIS „Viitorul” is an independent think tank, founded in 1993 that combines social, political and economic research with solid advocacy components. The institution conducts applied monitoring research in several areas: economy, social policy, EU policies, regional development, but also security and foreign policy risks.

Based in Washington, DC, Partnership for Transparency Fund's (PTF) mission is to advance innovative civil society-led approaches to improve governance, increase transparency, promote the rule of law and reduce corruption in developing and emerging countries.

Civil society expresses its deep concern about the fact that the Center for Centralized Public Procurement in Healthcare (CAPCS) has decided to receive offers for tenders by e-mail. This applies to procurements in the field of health care, which have nothing to do with the fight against COVID-19. Prior to this, offers were accepted in sealed envelopes. The corresponding letter number Rg02-1416, April 7, 2020, was sent to suppliers by acting CAPCS Director Alina Russu.

Even though the submission of offers in envelopes has a high level of corruption risks and is clearly a relic of the Stone Age, this procedure still contained at least some minimal guarantees of transparency and impartiality: suppliers could attend the opening of envelopes and, thus, minimize the control of the procurement process.

When submitting offers by e-mail, the minimum guarantees of transparency of procurements and impartiality to suppliers are actually compromised. Email submissions actually blindfold the public, taking medical purchases into the shadows. As a result, the risks of inefficient use of public funds and deterioration of the protection of public health are increased: for more money - less supplies and medical equipment can be purchased. This is unacceptable in a modern democratic society, and particularly in a state of emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19.

Given the increased risk of corruption in the Republic of Moldova, [1] e-mail offers are easy to manipulate and abuse:

• the e-mail is easy to delete or it can get “accidentally” in the spam folder;
• important information from the offers can be reported to competitors;
• one can advise “privileged” suppliers to make changes and invisibly send an offer with updated data, etc.

We are concerned that for more than a year now no decisions have been made to finalize the functionality of the electronic procurement system (today it is SIA RSAP MTender) for medical purchases. In this regard, in the current emergency situation, CAPCS does not use this transparent system.

In connection with the foregoing, we urge that:
 • CAPCS immediately refuses to the practice of accepting offers by e-mail; 
•  The Government and the Commission for Emergency Situations ensure a transparent use of public funds in the field of medical procurement, particularly by:
1. Publishing detailed lists, specifications, the number of planned purchases and concluded contracts for the purchase of medicines, medical devices and medical equipment, specifying specifications, quantities and prices, data on supplies;
2. Obliging the Ministry of Finance to urgently finalize the necessary functionality of the electronic procurement system (currently SIA RSAP MTender) for medical purchases.

The entire call can be read here: Open call of civil society organisations to the authorities on critical deterioration of transparency in public procurement by the Center for Centralized Public Procurement in Health care