At the workshop (Source: baodauthau.vn)Thu addressed aninternational workshop on independent procurement grievance handling mechanismsin Vietnam co-organised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and theWorld Bank in Hanoi on June 14
The workshop was anopportunity for policymakers to study international practices in grievancehandling mechanism so as to raise amendments to the bidding regulations towardscompliance with modernity.
Thu said that grievance handlingmechanisms in Vietnam were revealed to have shortcomings, while the country’srapid international integration requires more transparency in bidding or publicprocurement.
Le Van Tang, former Director of Bidding Management Department, saidthat it is critical to improve bidding transparency and the economic efficiencyof using the State budget.
The Bidding Law 43/2013 already has significant improvements but stillneeds to be amended to keep pace with integration, Tang said.
A World Bank research shows that public procurement accounts for thebiggest proportion of annual Government spending, at around 15-20 percent ofgross domestic product (GDP) of countries around the world.
In Vietnam, public spendingjumped from 28.5 percent of GDP in 2001-05 period to 29.73 percent in 2006-10.From 2011-13, the Government tightened spending with aims to stabilise themacro-economy and curb inflation, but spending remained high at 28.15 percentof GDP.
Tang said that an independentmechanism in grievance handling is critical to ensure transparency andefficiency in public procurement.
Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, deputy deanof International Trade Law Faculty, said that several bidding regulationsremain muddled and obscure. “Vietnam needs to review and improve biddingregulations,” Hien said, adding that the foundation of an independentadministrative agency for handling grievance should be put into consideration.
Accountability in bidding mustalso be enhanced, Daniel I. Gordon from George Washington University Law Schooladded.-VNA
VNA
