Civil society plays an essential role in monitoring public procurement and ensuring transparency in the award and execution of public procurement contracts. In cases where authorities are not guided by the principles of transparency, integrity and efficiency in procurement procedures, or even are part of corruption schemes, civil society organizations can use the information obtained in the monitoring process to mobilize citizens to ask for more responsibility on the part of the government. The participants in the training for civil society within the framework of the project "Innovative Improvements in the public procurement system of the Republic of Moldova through inclusion, creativity and compliance practices", funded by the European Union.

Several representatives of civil society from different regions of the country benefited from a complex Training Program in the field of public procurement monitoring between September 26 and November 16. The purpose of this program is to strengthen civil society capacities in the Republic of Moldova in the monitoring of public procurement by applying innovative tools to identify violations, frauds, and corruption and to generate solutions for improving the procurement system.

The training program approached subjects of interest in the field of public procurement, such as: the functioning mechanism of the public procurement system, the legislation in force, the procurement planning process, the choice of the proper procurement procedure, the functioning of the dispute settlement system and the participation in the meetings examination, as well as the rules on advertising and transparency.

Also, within the Program, the representatives of procurement institutions, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Public Procurement Agency, the National Agency for Contemporary Affairs, the Court of Accounts, the National Anticorruption Center, were invited in some sessions to present the policies they are developing in the field and to discuss with the participants the practical aspects of the procurement process. At the same time, in order to promote good local practices and to intensify the actions for monitoring of acquisitions at the local level, 3 work visits were carried out in different regions of the country (Rezina, Balti, Cahul), where the participants had the opportunity to see the results of the activities and how they have contributed to improving local governance.

At the end of the Program, IDIS "Viitorul" together with civil society representatives created a Civil Society Dialogue Platform on Public Procurement Monitoring with a view to intensifying cooperation and facilitating dialogue between different civil society organizations in different regions of the country who are in charge of overseeing public money. However, only through reinforced actions and joint actions, monitoring activities can have visible results on the efficiency of budgets and good governance.

For further details, please contact the press officer, Victor URSU, at the following address: ursu.victoor@gmail.com or at 069017396.