Moldovan finance ministry says reform of public acquisitions system can no longer be postponed

Chisinau, 28 April /MOLDPRES/ - The reform of the public acquisitions system is imminent, which should no longer be postponed. We tend to a system due to efficiently use the public money, and thereby, we should win the confidence of  economic agents, citizens, foreign donors, Finance Minister Octavian Armasu today said at a news conference on the reform of the public acquisitions’ system in Moldova.  

Presently, there is a high degree of enterprises’ distrust in the public acquisitions’ system. There are conflicts of interests within state bodies, which must be removed, and the acquisitions are not always made rationally and in citizens’ interest, the minister said. “What we want, first of all, is a transparent process of  acquisitions, so that everybody be informed on how providers are selected, how the public money is spent. We want a public acquisitions system without corruption, the elements of conflicts of interests must be removed,” Armasu stressed.

The reform was started at a cabinet meeting on 27 April, when the government approved the setting up of an agency for analyzing contestations. “At the same time, we need development of human resources, monitoring of the process, we want to implement standard procedures for public acquisitions, to provide opportunities to small- and medium-sized enterprises, in order to be able to apply for public acquisitions. Our general goal is to improve a system of public acquisitions, in order to stimulate the economic growth and improve the residents’ living conditions,” the finance minister said.   

In the context, the minister also said that an important element in the reformation process is also the association agenda. “Besides the fact the association agenda is the roadmap of implementing the reforms for the entire government, it also asks us to make certain modernizations and optimizations of the public acquisitions system,” Armasu noted.   

Head of the Political and Economic Section at the EU Delegation to Moldova Wicher Slagter said the reforms in public acquisitions represented an important step for any government. There is much corruption in this system in Moldova. The EU Delegation recommends transparency, correct and clear-cut work of the public acquisitions.    

“The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will be with the Moldovan authorities to provide support in more activities, including to implement the reform of the public acquisitions sector,” the head of the EBRD’s Business Advisory Services (BAS) programme, Veronica Arpentin, said.  

The law on public acquisitions will enter into force on 1 May. The law transposes the European directives from the sector of public acquisitions of assets, works and services, provides for the creation of the Agency for Settling Contestations, favours the implementation of sustainable acquisitions and sets clearer game rules, which helps avoid conflicts of interests, corruption acts and abuses. The volume of public acquisitions accounts for nine per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in Moldova, which is about ten billion lei.   

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor M. Jantovan)