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SARAJEVO, December 11 (FENA) - Participants at a conference on "Challenges of the Public Procurement System in Bosnia and Herzegovina" today in Sarajevo discuss activities and plans to improve the legal framework for public procurement, and measures to prevent abuse of that system.
The conference was organized by Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TIBiH) and the Center for Media Development and Analysis (CRMA), as part of USAID's support for citizens in the fight against corruption.
US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Eric Nelson said that public procurement in BiH amounts to KM 3 billion annually, which is almost 10 percent of GDP.
"Corruption and conflict of interest are threat, or vulnerable points in the public procurement process anywhere in the world, in the sense that individuals with political connections are trying to direct public funds to personal enrichment. A key activity is to strengthen procurement procedures to protect that process and system from such negative impacts," Nelson said.
That is why the US Embassy in cooperation with the BiH Public Procurement Agency is interested in supporting discussions with the civil sector, journalists, on what are the safeguards, that is, measures that would prevent abuse of the public procurement system.
"This partnership has resulted in drafting a new law on public procurement, and I would like to invite the Council of Ministers and the BiH Parliament to sit down and consider adopting the law as soon as possible," said Nelson.
Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to BiH Khaldoun Sinno said that there is a great deal of connection, not only in this country but in most other countries, in terms of how public money is spent and how corruption occurs.
"There is EU Public Procurement Laws and Regulations and every EU member state adheres to these rules and laws and therefore it is necessary to establish a legal framework for this system. Value for money and transparency of procedures are key principles," Sinno said, adding that this is a contribution to the discussion that should be conducted by citizens or public in order to determine how their money is spent.
Director of the BiH Public Procurement Agency, Djenan Salčin, said that government and non-governmental sectors had done a lot in the previous period and that the Draft Law on Amendments to the BiH Public Procurement Law, which follows EU directives, is prepared. He hopes that the law would be considered and adopted in the coming period because, as he said, we are way behind countries of the region that had already adopted such a law.
Member of the Board of Directors of Transparency International in BiH Aleksandra Martinović said the purpose of the conference is to urge the political will to adopt amendments to the Law on Public Procurement.
(FENA) A. B.
