Public procurement non-transparent, documents incomplete

BELGRADE - Irregularities in the public procurement procedure over the course of the previous year were mostly related to its non-transparency, incomplete tender documents and preferential treatment of certain bidders, Sasa Varinac, chairman of the national commission for the protection of bidders' rights, said on Monday.

Presenting two reports on the commission's work from April 1 to June 30, and from July 1 to December 31, 2013, to the parliamentary committee on finance, state budget and public spending control, Varinac underlined that the biggest pressure that members of the commission have is of professional nature, adding that they act responsibly, and that there are no other pressures.

Varinac noted that cooperation with judiciary bodies is good, especially with the Judicial Academy, adding that members of the commission had an opportunity to explain to court chiefs "provisions of the Public Procurement Law whose changes would be put forward after they see what needs to be altered".

Replying to questions by members of the committee, the chairman of the commission said that by March 1, four requests for offense proceedings were submitted, and that the figure reached 40, but only one procedure was actually instituted.

Penalties were enforced in misdemeanor cases, when documents were not valid or complete.

Director of the Public Procurement Office Predrag Jovanovic said that the office is faced with the problems concerning workforce drain, and the lack of proper work space, stressing that all appeals to relevant institutions fell on deaf ears.

The committee approved the reports, and recommended that they be rushed through the parliament.