Reforming the procurement system is necessary to adjust the national system to international standards and align it with the acquis communautaire, in line with the commitments made with the ratification of the Association Agreement with the EU. Effective public procurement implies a proper legislative framework, corruption prevention institutions, and a functional and effective appeal system in the interests of all actors. It is the IDIS director's statement "Viitorul", Igor Munteanu, made during the event of launching the results of the monitoring of the decisions of the National Agency for Solving Complaints (ANSC).
Decision-Making (ANSC) is an important step in detecting hidden interests in public procurement, corruption, and mimicing the competition process, complying with legislation, taking the right decisions, and streamlining the practice of adopting solutions to appeals. The expert IDIS Viitorul, Viorel Pîrvan, who has monitored 152 ANSC decisions, issued between 09.08.2017 and 19.01.2018, is of the opinion. The monitoring took place within the project "Innovative Improvements in the Public Procurement System of the Republic of Moldova through Inclusion, Creativity and Law Enforcement Practices" funded by the European Union and co-financed by the Hanns Seidel - Republic of Moldova Foundation.
Following monitoring, Mr. Viorel Pîrvan found that ANSC rejected 52% of the contestations, 19% admitted and 24% - partially admitted. Nearly half ANSC considered them unfounded, one third - late and 10% - incomplete. More than half of the disputed procurement procedures concern goods, one third of works and 10% of services. "From the analysis of the decisions, in some cases, a selective attitude of ANSC is observed in relation to the examination of the economic operators' appeals, which also affects the adopted solutions".
There are cases when a uniform practice has already been formed, which is found in several ANSC decisions. For example, cases referring to the "average hourly wage of construction workers", which are calculated according to the normative framework governing pay in the real sector.
During the event, the coordinator of the project, Mrs. Carolina Ungureanu, presented a survey on the perception of economic operators and contracting authorities regarding ANSC activity. Respondents decided on: the legal framework for the settlement of appeals, the procedure for filing a complaint, the procedure for examining and settling appeals, the transparency of ANSC's activity, the opening of open hearings for appeals, the credibility of the decisions / solutions issued by ANSC, the public image of ANSC, the clarity of ANSC's role in the procurement system, promptness of appeals, etc.
"The main cause that favors the process of contesting the acquisitions in the eyes of the economic operators is corruption (agreements between bidders or between tenderers and authorities) - 29% and the contracting authorities mention first - the non-qualitative award documents with 24.1%. Both economic operators and contracting authorities mention in second place specifications with technical specifications favoring a particular operator (27% and 21% respectively). 33% of the contracting authorities and 37% of the economic agents mentioned the necessity to increase the transparency of ANSC's activity, some of them recommending the online transmission of the sessions, the involvement of the civil society representatives in the decision-making process, the reduction of the political influence, Zina Ungureanu.
43% of the decisions rejected by ANSC invoked the reason for the delay (probably due to the lack of detailed knowledge of the procedure), and at various workshops, roundtables, interviews, economic agents said they needed more information and strengthened their capacities. In this context, IDIS "Viitorul" has developed the "Public Procurements" guide, which can be accessed here.
The guide is made up of five chapters and contains information on the public procurement dispute resolution system; formulating complaints in public procurement procedures; the procedure for examining and solving appeals; the decisions of the National Agency for the settlement of appeals; international practices on the functioning of public procurement systems, the remedy system and appeals in Romania.
Iuri Cicibaba, Head of Cabinet, Ministry of Finance talked about MTender - an instrument of public procurement that "will allow us to save financial and human resources, increase transparency, speed, and procurement competition." Cicibaba also mentioned that the benefits for the participants in the procedure could include the following: they can view and analyze the purchase plans, view current procurement procedures and free of charge documentation, all economic operators are placed on equal terms, can submit the online offer from anywhere is not, can participate in the electronic auction wherever it is not, can see the price of the other bidders during the electronic auction in the event that the procurement procedure is completed by auction, the process of selecting the winner is transparent and public, can call on consultancy platforms, benefit from additional platform services, obtain and analyze historical purchasing information".
For further details, please contact the press officer, Victor URSU, at the following address: ursu.victoor@gmail.com or at 069017396.
Agriculture of the Republic of Moldova remains one of the vulnerable areas of the Moldovan economy, despite the fact that two years in a row in the sector are good results, above expectations. Most farmers are confronted with the problem of access to cheap financing, with insufficient capacity to increase yields, but more recently with problems related to skilled labor. Program Director Viitorul Viitorul, Viorel Chivriga, declared in the show "15 minutes of economic realism" that the year 2017 was a good one for farmers and the production was high.
"The current year for agriculture and rural development is marked by positive results obtained by farmers in the vegetal sector, minor regression in the animal sector, increasing agricultural and agri-food exports to the EU and CIS, institutional reforms on the part of institutions with functions and attributions in the field agricultural and rural development, the application of several provisions of the Association Agreement to the size of agriculture and rural development ", Chivriga explained.
"In 2017, it was the vegetable sector that generated the increase in agricultural production. Operational data indicates a growing global crop in most crops. Moreover, yields are high for the second consecutive year, despite the fact that in April, natural hazards have affected extensive agricultural crops in the Central and Southern regions of the country. At that time we said that bad weather would not affect agricultural product prices and production would be high. This thing was later confirmed, "he remarked to the program director.
At the end of 2017, autumn crops were set up for the harvest of 2018 on an area of 381,071 thousand ha, of which 134,232 thousand ha in the northern area, 81,755 thousand ha in the Center area, in the South area - 124,195 thousand ha, and 40,889 thousand ha in ATU Gagauzia. Of these, 297,297 thousand ha are set up with autumn wheat, 40,834 thousand ha, establishments with autumn barley, and 40,479 thousand ha, set up with autumn rape. This year, the state of the established agricultural crops is good, which makes us believe that next year's forecasts for grain harvests in the first group will be quite optimistic.
The livestock sector has been marked by a decrease in Tr. 1-3, 2017, but relatively mild compared to the vegetal one. At the same time, the trend of decreasing livestock practically recovered compared to the previous years, except for the year 2016. Accordingly, during the analysis period, the number of cattle decreased compared to the same period last year, being slightly above 178 thousand heads of 201 thousand heads.
On the financial support side for farmers, it is apparently a positive change. The subsidy amount is 900 million lei, much higher than in the previous years, but part of the money will go traditional for the debt settlement last year. But in addition to the relatively good results of agriculture funding, there are clear signs that some measures do not yield the expected results. Only 120 agricultural producers have provided their crops and animals. As an insured area, there was about 5800 ha (various crops) of over 1.6 million hectares of arable land and about 2000 heads of animals. Similarly, there was no dossier on the measure of promoting products on the market (M 1.9), and only two requests for the measure to stimulate the consolidation of agricultural land, Viorel Chivriga believes.
For the year 2018, we estimate that agricultural output will mark a 5 percent advance compared to 2017, and animal and partially vegetal products will grow. Prices for agricultural products, especially for cereals and fruits, will be unstable, but also higher in the first half of 2018 than in the second half of 2017. We also believe that in 2018 and 2019 there will be widespread risks for application of the requirements of the Association Agreement on agriculture, regional development, and the environment, due to the reorganization of the ministry, which will be extended by merging the MAFI with the Ministry of Environment and the subdivisions of the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction. On the other hand, the next two years, which are electoral, will be marked by several populist decisions, hesitations in painful reforms and political interference in the economic sector.
The show is made by IDIS "Viitorul" in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
For more details contact IDIS "Viitorul" Public Relations Coordinator, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
Companies in the left bank of the Dniester region export 40% of goods and products to EU countries, and alleged Tiraspol authorities are willing to extend the Free Trade Agreement next year, but Chisinau must insist on respecting the commitments made by Tiraspol. This is the opinion expressed by IDIS expert "Viitorul" Ion Tăbârţă during the 15 minutes of ”economic realism” show.
"In recent years the economy of the Transnistrian region has experienced a profound regress. Since 2014, the main macroeconomic indicators have worsened. The gross regional product dropped by 7.5%, industrial production by 20%, exports by 26%, imports by 47% and the consumer market capacity by 21%. Population revenues decreased by 33%. At the same time, the consolidated budget revenues of the region covered only 60% of the expenditure needs.
"The regression of the economy of the Transnistrian region is explained by the fact that, structurally, the economy on the left bank of the Dniester has been slightly upgraded, and it remains essentially a Soviet type. At the same time, there is the monopoly of Sheriff, which dictates the rules of the game for all economic entities", Tăbârţă said.
According to him, the cause of the economic recession in the region is geopolitical. This is the Ukrainian crisis, following the annexation of Crimea and the invasion of the Russian Federation in Donbass. This has changed the optics of Kiev, which until 2014 tolerated the actions of the unconstitutional authorities in Tiraspol to look at and address the situation in the region. As a result, Kiev has drastically stopped the Transnistrian smuggling in the Odessa region, which was a source of income for regional elites. The Iliciovsk port - a hub of Transnistrian smuggling to the rest of the world - has been closed to illicit trade, which has caused significant economic damage to the Transnistrian region. In Tiraspol's rhetoric, Ukraine is being blamed for the difficult economic situation of the region, which imposed the economic blockade on the left bank of the Dniester, and Chisinau, which hinders the economic relations of the region with the rest of the world.
"In the second half of 2017, there is a slight improvement in the economic situation in the region. In January-October 2017, the volume of industrial production amounted to USD 601.7 million, a slight increase compared to the same period of the previous year, when industrial production amounted to USD 595.1 million. The increase in industrial production is explained by the resumption of the normal working activity of the Ribnita Metallurgical Plant in April. An important role in the economy of the region on the left bank of the Dniester is the production of electricity. In April-May the power supply to the right bank was stopped, causing significant economic damage to the Transnistrian region. At that time, Chisinau imported electricity from Ukraine but later returned to the old supplier, the Cuciurgan Electric Power Plant", Tabartea added.
As far as exports are concerned, they increased by 17.3% compared to the same period of 2016, in the first 10 months of 2017 they amounted to USD 515.9 million and imports increased to 809, 1 million USD, with 69.2 million USD more. Most deliveries of goods and products produced from the left bank of the Dniester River made it to the right bank of the Dniester, followed by Ukraine and Romania. Imports are dominated by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the right bank of the Dniester.
The IDIS expert "Viitorul" draws attention to an important detail in the trade of the Transnistrian region. It is the Free Trade Agreement, which, contrary to the apocalyptic scenarios delivered on the geopolitical route, that the region will be invaded by EU goods, proved to be of benefit to Tiraspol delivering goods and products to the EU without taxes and excise duties. the thing saved some of the economic agents. At the same time, the expert points out that there is no official monitoring mechanism known to the public to apply the Free Trade Agreement in the Transnistrian region.
In conclusion, Ion Tăbârţă mentioned that Chisinau must insist on the observance of the commitments assumed by Tiraspol upon the signing of the Free Trade Agreement. This presupposes that Chisinau will receive greater access to influence the economy of the Transnistrian region. Thus, afterward, the Transnistrian region can be put in a positive economic dependence on the right bank. Thus, creating the conditions of socio-economic, and then political, approach to the left bank of the Dniester towards the right.
The show is made by IDIS "Viitorul" in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
For more details contact IDIS "Viitorul" Public Relations Coordinator, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
Western market is crucial for Moldovan trade, as it brings quality changes and ensures stability for Moldovan business in the delivery of goods and products. In the international trade of the Republic of Moldova, good signals have emerged compared to previous years when there is a stagnation or a little visible change. This is the opinion expressed by the Program Director, Viorel Chivriga, on ”15 minutes of economic realism”, programme.
All the restrictions introduced by the Russian Federation since 2013 have influenced the business and the accumulations to the budget. Thus, after the signing of the Free Trade Agreement, results have emerged regarding the diversification of exports and imports to other markets or other markets.
"In 2017, the level of exports shows that goods and products can be delivered in EU countries, and not only, in the CIS. An annual increase of 17% in deliveries of goods and products in the EU creates a favorable picture for Moldovan business. An increase of 20% was recorded for imports. A remarkable result due to the efficiency of the Customs Service", Chivriga explained.
Referring to the Free Trade Agreement with Turkey, which entered into force in 2016, the program director said some voices said there would be an avalanche of goods and products in Turkey but the increase was only 10% while exports increased 1.6 times in 2017 compared to 2016. We only notice benefits from trade liberalization.
At the same time, Romania became the trading partner with the largest share in Moldovan trade and surpassed Russia, much, which was the main trading partner a few years ago. Romania is Italy and Germany, showing stability in trade with the Republic of Moldova. On the other hand, although the CIS states have seen a rise in trade, they take little steps to boost trade relations.
"The Customs Service plays an important role in boosting trade. Efforts to harmonize legislation, which is simpler, connected to regulation, but not to the imposition of barriers, are noticeable. This brings businesses closer to state institutions. But the emergence of common control points at the western and eastern boundaries will diminish from the complexity of export procedures and the time lost to customs agents", Chivriga said.
In conclusion, the program director mentioned that with the change of legislation, qualitative changes also occur in terms of standardization. In 2017 over 16 mi of standards were taken over - a qualitative change, which removes the old legacy from the USSR and ensures the Moldovan business with competitive markets.
The show is made by IDIS "Viitorul" in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
For more details contact IDIS "Viitorul" Public Relations Coordinator, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
Fraud and corruption are the issues that threaten public procurement in the Republic of Moldova and the legislation requires further clarification in the circumstances in which a part of the economic agents and the contracting authorities shrug off the normative framework. It is one of the subjects discussed at the workshop in public procurement involving contracting authorities and economic agents. The training was carried out within the project "Innovative Improvements in the Public Procurement System of the Republic of Moldova through Inclusion, Creativity and Law Enforcement Practices" funded by the European Union and co-financed by the Hanns Seidel - Republic of Moldova Foundation.
Public procurement issues are caused by the lack of stability, the quality of competition and the administrative capacity of buyers in the public system, including the capacity and competence of procurement staff, both at national and local level.
In the workshop, the procurement specialist, Ecaterina Meaun, spoke of the announcement of intention, which will be published separately for goods, works, and services, within 30 days of the approval of the contracting authority's own budget.
"The notice of intent will include all procurement contracts expected to be awarded by the end of the budget year. For contracts whose, the estimated value for goods and services is less than ROL 400,000 and less than ROL 1,500,000 for works, the publication of the notice of intent is not mandatory. "
At the same time, she said that the deadline for submitting tenders is at least 20 calendar days for public procurement of goods and services - 2 300 000 lei and for works contracts - 90 000 000 lei and 52 days for purchases exceeding those thresholds.
In turn, Vadim Turcanu, a public procurement specialist, referred to competition in public procurement. "It is essential to ensure fair competition for quality services and products, and this can be ensured through procurement platforms. They provide clear rules for "playing", but also saving public money. "
The participants in the discussion referred to the new legislative provisions on public procurement, the correlation between the tender-offer-contract documentation, the particularities of the tenders for the public procurement of works and the appeal system, aimed at formulating the complaints.
For further details, please contact the press officer, Victor URSU, at the following address: ursu.victoor@gmail.com or at 069017396.
The latest data from the National Bank of Moldova show that Moldovans working abroad sent home the equivalent of $ 116 million in October, 19% more than in the same month of the previous year. And since the beginning of 2017, the total amount of transfers has amounted to $ 988 million. This could boost the NBM foreign exchange reserves, which currently amount to USD 2.7 billion. It is the opinion expressed by the journalist Victor Ursu in the show "15 minutes of economic realism".
Although the remittances grow, we notice that the volume of foreign exchange transactions in Moldovan currency exchange offices decreased in October compared with the previous month, by 9.4 percent - to 341.6 million USD. According to the National Bank, the volume of foreign currency purchases in the CSV against MDL decreased by 12.3 percent - to USD 245.9 million in equivalent, and the volume of sales decreased by 1% to 95.7 million USD.
At the same time, in October compared to the previous month, both the net foreign exchange supply of individuals and the net demand of foreign currency by economic agents decreased by USD 34.9 million (17.9%) and USD 34.4 million ( 24.2 percent), respectively. A demand and a low offer led to the dollar appreciating by 1.5% to 17.43 lei. The increase in foreign currency supply will increase in December as a result of winter holidays when some Moldovans working abroad will come home and shop by exchanging currency. On the other hand, the demand for currency will also increase from the suppliers of energy resources as they buy foreign currency to pay for gas and electricity imports.
Although in the market there is a decline in supply and demand for foreign currency, in October the NBM bought $ 80 million from the market and reserves reached $ 2.69 billion. In November, the central bank also bought $ 20 million from the market, and foreign exchange reserves reached $ 2.7 billion, rising $ 29 million. Purchases of foreign currency on the market take place as a result of the excessive appreciation of the Moldovan Leu against the dollar and the euro.
If the NBM continues to intervene in the foreign exchange market by buying foreign currency, foreign exchange reserves may exceed the historic maximum of 2.8 billion in 2014. Currently, foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to absorb potential currency shocks. Their total sum covers over six months of imports.
The show is made by IDIS "Viitorul" in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
On 31 October 2017, the Ministry of Justice has submitted for coordination a draft law the declared aim of which is the improvement of the investment climate, attraction of foreign investment and reduction of pressure on business environment by the law enforcement bodies. The signatory organizations did not know about the elaboration of this draft law until 31 October 2017. The full apeal can be read here.
Systemic corruption leaves its mark in many sectors of public governance and private affairs, generating costs that citizens pay and the public interest is affected. For citizens to be protected against corruption and abuse, there is a need for active dialogue between decision-makers and civil society, the business environment, and authorities responsible for compliance with standards and good governance in the procurement system.
Today, at the IDIS Viitorul headquarters took place a public debate "Trusting Public Procurement", in which public procurement experts, representatives of state authorities and local public authorities discussed the phenomenon of rigged auctions as an expression of anti-competitive conditions in the public procurement process. Anticompetitive practices involve a secret agreement or concerted practice between two or more bidders who agree to fix the price of certain services or products or to divide the market they are interested in in order to influence the auction results. As a result, consumers will suffer as a result of poor quality products, non-competitive services, and much less disadvantageous contracts for state authorities will be concluded than if they met the formal standards for the public affairs process.
The debate took place within the framework of the project "Innovative Improvements in the Public Procurement System of the Republic of Moldova through Inclusion, Creativity and Law Enforcement Practices" funded by the European Union and co-financed by the Hanns Seidel - Republic of Moldova Foundation.
"Every day we are bombarded with news about new detentions, new searches, new accusations in bidding trials. It seems that everyone has worked, and regulatory agencies, and CNA, and the Prosecutor's Office, but there are very few defendants with final sentences, and the big corruption files disappear and evaporate in the air like fantasies. Citizens often have the impression that they are assisting in a national sport, because of the fact that those caught with irregularities tend to escape exemplary punishments anyway. What happens in the area of purchasing directly affects the pockets of every citizen. Public procurement accounts for 5-10% of GDP. And trust is manifested by the way people look at the priorities of the institutions by how they can monitor them", said Igor Munteanu, Director of IDIS Viitorul, at the opening of debates.
Viorel Chivriga, director of programs at IDIS Viitorul, outlined the most common forms of anti-competitive practices in public procurement. These include: retention of the bid, alternative bidding, exclusion of qualified bidders, arranged specifications, manipulation of bidding procedures and the inclusion of fictitious companies in the bidding process.
In order to prevent anticompetitive practices, the Program Director said that it is necessary to use performance specifications when defining requirements, defining specifications taking into account substitutable products, varying the size of public procurement contracts, either by merging contracts or by dividing them, annually, the public procurement timetable and the organization of public procurement jointly with other contracting authorities, in the case of regular public procurement contracts that are repeated on a regular basis and which concern similar products.
The roundtable was attended by Dorin Dolghi - Legal Section, Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, Dorina Galamaga, Superior Inspector of General Directorate for Prevention of Corruption, Gheorghe Ghidora - Head of Legal Department, National Agency for Solving Complaints, Dumitru Ochinca, Ministry of Finance and Gheorghe Raileanu, Mayor of Cimislia, CALM Vice-President ..
In conclusion, the invitees said that public procurement tricks are a hindrance to public procurement, and they appear with the agreement of some officials with the economic agents willing to make profits. A summary of the main conclusions and recommendations discussed at this meeting will be forwarded to the agencies on the following days. IDIS Viitorul project "Innovative Improvements in Public Procurement through Inclusion, Creativity, and Practices of Compliance," funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Hanns Seidel Foundation, supports institutional capacity building and good governance and democratic sustainability practices in the Republic of Moldova.
For further details, please contact the press officer, Victor URSU, at the following address: ursu.victoor@gmail.com or at 069017396.
The proper conduct of procurement is related to how the actual needs of the contracting authority have been identified. The identification of needs is based on a detailed analysis of the problems existing in the contracting authority's field of activity and at the same time the opportunities for improving the current situation. It is the workshop message in public procurement involving contracting authorities and economic operators. The training was carried out within the project "Innovative Improvements in the Public Procurement System of the Republic of Moldova through Inclusion, Creativity and Law Enforcement Practices" funded by the European Union and co-financed by the Hanns Seidel - Republic of Moldova Foundation.
Ecaterine Meaun, a public procurement specialist, talked about the estimated value of the procurement contract, which is an economic concept and expresses the price for the purchase of products, services or works at a certain date in certain particular situations.
The basic procurement procedures are open tender and restricted bidding. The choice of award procedure is the exclusive responsibility of the contracting authority. These include small public procurement which, for the purposes of the law, is not a public procurement procedure, but a specific way of direct purchase of low-value goods, services, and works. Low-value public procurement is public procurement contracts planned and concluded by contracting authorities whose estimated value, excluding VAT, does not exceed: 80 000 lei for public procurement of goods and services, 100 000 lei for public works contracts.
"In making low-value public procurement, the contracting authority shall ensure the efficient use of financial resources, transparency, objectivity, and impartiality of the procurement process and public confidence in it. Low-value public procurement is carried out by the contracting authority on the basis of annual procurement plans or for emergencies as a result of unplanned needs or unpredictable events. Emergency reasons will be set by the working group through a report", explained Vadim Turcan, a public procurement specialist.
In conclusion, the workshop participants mentioned the qualification and selection criteria set by the contracting authority, which must have a clear link with the subject of the contract to be awarded and taking into account the capacities of the specific market to which the contract is addressed, in parallel with the need to ensure the conditions of effective competition for a procurement procedure.
For further details, please contact the press officer, Victor URSU, at the following address: ursu.victoor@gmail.com or at 069017396.
The public sector reform in the Republic of Moldova is indissolubly linked to the integrity of the acquisitions. By signing the Association Agreement with the EU, the RM committed itself to respecting and adjusting its procurement rules and practices with a view to ensuring transparent offers under non-discriminatory and competitive treatment. You can find the APEL here.
