Considering that amendments to the Law on Public Procurement adopted at the Committee of the Cabinet of Ministers on 27 October 2008 considerably increases corruption risks and given the present economic situation can undermine fair competition creating unequal conditions for businesses, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) invites businesses to express their views and make suggestions relating to proposed amendments in the public procurement rules.
KNAB invites businesses to share their views, experiences and make suggestions on the discussion forum or send a letter to us at knab@knab.gov.lv.
Law on Public Procurement
Amendments to the Law on Public Procurement, adopted at the Committee of the Cabinet of Ministers on 27 October 2008 (in Latvian):
http://www.mk.gov.lv/lv/mk/tap/?pid=30313612&mode=mkk&date=2008-10-27
KNAB’s announcement in relation to proposed amendments to the Law on Public Procurement:
http://www.knab.gov.lv/en/knab/news/article.php?id=150500
Proposed amendments provide for cancelling the use of the procurement procedure for procurement of goods or services when the price is not exceeding 92 755 LVL and for construction works – when the price is not exceeding 200 000 LVL. For procurements below this amount an informative report shall be published on the website of the Procurement Monitoring Bureau and a deadline established for submitting proposals (not less than 10 days).
Considering that the amendments do not provide for using procurement procedure below this threshold, public authority would not need to establish a procurement commission, procurement also could be done by a single person. For procurement no documentation should be prepared, no criteria for evaluation and selection should be indicated. Hence, it may be difficult to assess how efficiently public resources are used and judge on responsibility of each public officials involved. Besides, no appeal possibilities are provided for businesses regarding conditions of such procurements.