On 15 March 2016, the ‘Conflict of interests in public procurements‘ Guide was launched at the Academy of Public Administration of the Republic of Moldova (APA). The publication was developed within the ‘Modernization of Local Public Services in the Republic of Moldova‘ project (MLPS), implemented by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ).
The launch event was attended by Her Excellency, Ulrike Knotz, the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Moldova, representatives of Government, diplomatic corps accredited in the Republic of Moldova, Academy of Public Admnistration, international development partners, civil society members from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, as well as representatives of local public administrations.
According to its authors, the Guide is addressed primarily to professionals from the public administration, in particular to local authority elected representatives, public institutions employees and service operators under their supervision. The publication’s role is to serve as guidance for the authorities involved in public procurements and provide both practical and theoretical advice in managing conflict of interests situations.
Oleg Balan, rector of APA and moderator of the event expressed his gratitude to the international partners for the support provided to the Republic of Moldova in the field of local public administration. ‘Public procurements play an important role in the economy of any state, as they imply the transition to a resource-efficient economy. However, in the Republic of Moldova, they – the public procurements – are most vulnerable in terms of corruption. Guides and scientific-practical works developed with international partners’ support are really helpful and contribute to the efficient strengthening of public administration’, stated Oleg Balan.
Her Excellency, Ulrike Knotz, the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Moldova spoke about the conflict of interests and the corruption it can generate. ‘National and international NGOs’ reports show that public procurements in the Republic of Moldova are influenced by conflicts of interests. Yet, according to National Integrity Commission data, the number of cases where penalties where applied is very small. Next month, the new adopted law on public procurements will come into force. The Guide launched today will provide support in situations of this kind. I hope it will be not only disseminated, but also read and implicitly taken into account ‘, declared H.E. Ulrike Knotz.
Adrian Dupu, GIZ/MLPS international advisor on public procurements and one of the authors of the Guide mentioned that this publication provides an overview of the entire mechanism for the identification, settlement and penalising of a conflict of interests. ‘We have drawn up this Guide focusing on practical examples and cases from the Republic of Moldova and member states of the European Union. Also, we tried to provide a description of procedures rather than an analysis of the law on the public institutions functioning, so that in case the law is revised or changed, the Guide does not lose its usefulness’, underlined Adrian Dupu.
It is to be noted that the Academy of Public Administration, the Ministry of Regional Development and Constructions and Regional Development Agencies were partners in the development of the Guide ‘Conflict of interests in public procurement‘.
The project ‘Modernization of local public services in the Republic of Moldova’ is implemented by the German Development Cooperation through GIZ and is financially supported by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Swedish Government, the Romanian Government, the European Union and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
The ‘Conflict of interests in public procurements‘ Guide in Romanian may be accessed HERE.
