SOFIA, November 2, 2017− The World Bank will perform a functional review of the Public Procurement Agency in Bulgaria and will propose a methodology for measuring performance in government procurement as part of a reimbursable advisory service agreement, signed today between Miglena Pavlova, Executive Director of Public Procurement Agency and World Bank Country Manager for Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia Tony Thompson.
In line with the National Strategy for Development of the Public Procurement Sector in Bulgaria over the period 2014-2020, Bulgaria has transposed the European procurement legislation into the national public procurement act in force from April 15, 2016. With the legislative framework in place, Bulgaria is now committed setting up a strong public procurement system focused on value for money with integrity.
Under the contract, the World Bank will perform a functional review analyzing business architecture, human resources, and ICT architecture of the Public Procurement Agency. The World Bank will also perform an assessment using a methodology for measuring performance in government procurement based on the best international practices.
The methodology is a tool, which measures eight dimensions of performance in a government procurement system, namely:
- Competition,
- Timeliness,
- Effectiveness,
- Efficiency in execution,
- Transparency,
- Quality,
- Contract management, and
- Fairness.
Each of the eight dimensions is equally important to determine success towards the goal of quality services/works/goods delivery in a timely, cost-efficiently, transparent and fair manner.
During the assessment, the World Bank team of experts will take into consideration examples from the best procurement cycle and market practices in EU countries with special attention on the eight dimensions of the government procurement system. The goal is to provide Bulgaria’s Public Procurement Agency with recommendations of how to improve the effectiveness of the public procurement system based on the methodology that measures the 8 dimensions.
“For us at the World Bank public procurement is a key element of development, as we consider it as an integral part of good governance – with 10 to 20% of GDP, government procurement accounts for a substantial part of the global economy”, said at the signing Tony Thompson, Country Manager for Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. He added that “The overarching premise of public procurement is pretty much about creating a level playing field for all – the government and the investors, the public and the private sector. It is very encouraging to see that Bulgaria is serious about creating a level playing field for all and could rely on our support in this area.”
