Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Jan. 6
By Mamed Dashdemirov – Trend:
Legislative Chamber of the Uzbek Parliament considered the draft “Law on Public Procurement” in the first reading, Adkham Shadmanov, chairman of the Committee on Budget and Economic Reform, told Trend.
The purpose of the draft law is to regulate relations in the field of public procurement, which include the acquisition of goods or services wholly or partly at the expense of the state budget, state external borrowings or foreign grants, Shadmanov noted.
He added that the main tasks in the implementation of state policy in this issue will include creation of equal conditions for all bidders and counteraction of corruption in this sphere, as well as through creating conditions under which it will be impossible to carry out unfair transactions.
In accordance with the document, transparency and openness of public procurements will be ensured by posting information about them on a specially created portal, including information on the conditions and requirements for each specific case, as well as the creation of a documentary confirmation system and reports on the public procurement process.
The supplier of goods, work or services will be selected on the basis of competitive bidding. A special commission, which will determine the winners, must consist of at least five competent specialists. The number of customers in the commission should not exceed more than 30 percent of the total number of experts.
Public procurement, which can be both open and closed, will be conducted by posting the bid price and purchase price on a special information portal, as well as conducting auction bidding to lower the starting price. The applicant who offers the lowest price will be their winner.
In the case if only one proposal to meet the needs of public procurement exists, competitive bidding will be declared invalid. However, in exceptional cases, which will be determined by the decision of the head of Uzbek state or government, public procurement can be carried out from a single supplier.
Monitoring of public procurement for compliance with the country’s legislation will be carried out by an authorized state body, mass media and non-governmental non-profit organizations.
After consideration of the draft “Law on Public Procurement” in the first reading, Uzbek MPs should approve it in the second reading, after this it will be necessary to approve the draft law in the Senate of the Uzbek Parliament and then send the draft law to the Uzbek president for signing.