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2007 Assessment

Bulgaria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Bulgaria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Procurement
Indicators		Score
48	Is the public procurement process effective?	93
49	Can citizens access the public procurement process?	92

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is the public procurement process effective?

48a: In law, there are regulations addressing conflicts of interest for public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Civil Service Law, Art. 29

Public Procurement Law, Art. 35

48b: In law, there is mandatory professional training for public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments: There are requirements for professional qualification, but no specific requirements for training. All civil servants undergo periodic training courses, though.

References: There are requirements for professional qualification, but no specific requirements for training. All civil servants undergo periodic training courses, though.

Peer Review Comments: Yes, the Institute of Public Administration and European Integration offers special professional and anticorruption programs for that staff.

48c: In practice, the conflicts of interest regulations for public procurement officials are enforced.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interviews with Georgi Ganev, CLS, October 2007

Peer Review Comments: Many experts in the field believe that public procurements is the main corruption instrument that is used by the governing parties to compensate their donors for the financial assistance received for the elections. See annual reports on corruption of the Center for Study of Democracy.

48d: In law, there is a mechanism that monitors the assets, incomes and spending habits of public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to this law the heads of the Public Procurement Agency have to disclose their assets before the National Audit Office and their declarations are made public. The asset declarations of lower level officials are not public, however.

References: The Law on Public Disclosure of Assets of High-ranking State Officials

Peer Review Comments: The majority of public-procurement officers do not fall under the regulations of the Law on Public Disclosure of Assets of High-Ranking State Officials.

48e: In law, major procurements require competitive bidding.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Public Procurement Law, Art. 14

48f: In law, strict formal requirements limit the extent of sole sourcing.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Public Procurement Law, [ LINK ]

Chapter I, General Principles

48g: In law, unsuccessful bidders can instigate an official review of procurement decisions.

Score:

YES

Comments: Interested parties could also appeal to courts.

References: Public Procurement Law, Chapter 11

48h: In law, unsuccessful bidders can challenge procurement decisions in a court of law.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Public Procurement Law, Art. 122e

48i: In law, companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations (i.e. bribery) are prohibited from participating in future procurement bids.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Public Procurement Act, Art. 47

48j: In practice, companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations (i.e. bribery) are prohibited from participating in future procurement bids.

Score:

100

Comments: Observers systematically doubt the fairness of procurement procedures. Objective studies on these practices do not exist, but interviews with experts suggest that malpractice is extensive.

References: Interviews with Ivan Krastev, CLS, November 2007

Can citizens access the public procurement process?

49a: In law, citizens can access public procurement regulations.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: A Public Procurement Register has been set up in compliance with the Public Procurement Law, Arts. 21-22.

49b: In law, the government is required to publicly announce the results of procurement decisions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Public Procurement Law, Art. 22

49c: In practice, citizens can access public procurement regulations within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Second source specifies the creation of an agency and the setting up of a Public Register of public procurement. This register is open to the public.

References: Interviews with Jana Papasova, CLS, October 2007

The Law on Public Procurement, [ LINK ]

49d: In practice, citizens can access public procurement regulations at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: No reports in the media of excessive costs.

Law on Public Procurement, Arts. 21, 22, [ LINK ]. There are no reports suggesting important violations of these legal provisions.

49e: In practice, major public procurements are effectively advertised.

Score:

100

Comments: Regarding the first source, most of the procurement deals are advertised effectively although sometimes deadlines might be a little tight.

The second source discusses the recent controversy surrounding the competition to provide software for the administration.

References: Announcements for major deals are published at the site of the agency [ LINK ] where the rest can be found as well.

see [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: There is no information about which major, public procurements are advertised or whether all of them are advertised publicly or not. No effective, public accountability exists for this.

Peer Review Comments: Under the Law on Public Procurement, all procurement notices should be published in the electronic register of the Public Procurement Office and available online.

49f: In practice, citizens can access the results of major public procurement bids.

Score:

100

Comments: The winner of the procurement competition is publicly announced, although not the exact content of the awarded contract, which impedes public assessment of efficiency. The announcements are made at the website of the agency for the first source.

The second source contains analysis of the recent practices.

References: [ LINK ].

[ LINK ]