Small companies consider late payment of contract performance, short deadlines for submission of bids and eligibility criteria for tender participation to be the main problems affecting public procurements on local level

SKOPJE, 12 May 2014 – Today, the Center for Civil Communications published the results from its regular monitoring of public procurements implemented by local authorities for the period April-September 2013. Key findings include:

• Although mandated by law, e-auctions were not organized in 53% of tender procedures monitored, primarily due to the fact that the contracting authority received only one bid or only one bid was considered adequate.
• Notifications on signed procurements contracts are published late or have never been published in 41% of tender procedures monitored.
• In as many as 53% of public procurements monitored, the contracting authorities, i.e. the state institutions defined eligibility criteria for tender participation that can be considered inadequate and counter-proportional to the procurement’s subject or value.
• Public procurements on local level included in the monitoring sample often used payment deadline as a bid-evaluation element that ultimately determines the bidding company to be awarded the public procurement contract.
• Late payment of contract performance, short deadlines for submission of bids, restrictive terms and conditions and administrative burdens related to tender participation, insufficient and untimely communication with the contracting authorities and primacy of price over quality in public procurements are just few of the problems faced by small and micro companies that participate in tender procedures organized on local level. Representatives of these companies propose extension of deadlines, timely payment of completed procurements, division of procurements into lots, but also increased professionalism on the part of contracting authorities when drafting the tender documents and technical specifications.

For more information, please contact the Center for Civil Communications on tel. (02) 3213-513 or by e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NOTE TO THE EDITORS:

USAID Civil Society Project is a 2.5-year project funded by the USAID and implemented by the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia (FOSM) in partnership with the Center for Civil Communications, the Youth Educational Forum, REACTOR – Research in Action, and Forum – Center for Strategic Research and Documentation.

Since 1993, the American people, through the USAID, have invested over 500 million USD in Macedonia. USAID is working with the people of Macedonia to create jobs, strengthen democratic institutions and practices, enhance integrated education, and prepare students for the labor market. These initiatives improve the quality of life and support Macedonia’s transition into a stable and prosperous democracy. USAID provides economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 100 countries worldwide. For more information see: macedonia.usaid.gov or follow USAID Macedonia on Facebook: www.facebook.com/USAIDMacedonia.