Public Procurement Platform in approach to the Green Public Procurement in Albania
G R A SP F I N A L C O N FER E NC E
2 8 - 29 M AY 2 0 1 5 PAT R A S , G R E EC E
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E-procurement in Albania Currently, the use of e-procurement system for contracting authorites and economic operators in Albania is not a challenge anymore. It is rather a normal way of conducting procurement procedures. On the other hand, e-procurement system remains a challenge for Public Procurement Agency (PPA), in the view of continuous improvement.
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E-procurement system From the beginning of 2009, Albania is using electronic procurement for all types of public procurement procedures (except of negotiations without publication procedures).
Also, since the beginning of 2013, small value procurement procedures are conducted in the electronic system.
This means that all the procurement process is carried out in electronic form, starting from the publication of the contract notice, until the publication of the winner notice and signed contract notice.
The e-procurement system is established at the PPA’s website https://www.app.gov.al
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E-procurement platform
E-procurement platform
E-procurement platform
E-procurement platform
E-procurement platform
E-procurement system Likewise, since April of 2012, the electronic system is used for conducting the first phase of concessions and public private partnership procedures. This means on-line publication of documents of concessions and PPP/procedures, and the electronic submission of offers.
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Solutions to the e-procurement system Albania chose to create a platform with hardware equipments installed at the PPA premises. Thus, it was not necessary for contracting authorities to made any investment in this regard, and for accessing the platform is sufficient a computer and an internet connection.
Also, solutions given to the e-procurement system and its usage consisted to: -decentralisation of the role of administrator for the electronic system for each contracting authority; and -electronic archive.
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Solutions to the Awarding Criteria
e-procurement
system
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Solutions to the Procedures Type
e-procurement
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Solutions to the e-procurement system Every contracting authority has its own account for the administration of the system for its own procurement procedures. Through this account they may create roles for Procurement Unit’ officers, for the members of the Commission for the Evaluation of the Offers, for auditing officers, etc. This functionality of the e-system saves time and facilitates the work of contracting authorities.
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Solutions to the e-procurement system The electronic archive of the system is functioning since the end of 2011. Creation of this electronic archive makes the operation on the system easier because:
-there aren’t many data in the working server (was realised the division of the operational database from the archive database). -the transfer of the data from the operational database to the archive one is done in real time and the archive database in on line as the operational database. -it helps a lot the auditors that can audite the procedures which are electronically archived.
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Challenges related to e-procurement system E-procurement was a great challenge having regard the lack of previous experience in this regard. The acknowledgment of using the e-procurement system for both parties, contracting authorities and economic operators, became necessary, in order to fulfill procurement procedures. The PPA provided advice and support to overcome the initial technical difficulties encountered, to both those categories. It also provided training for all contracting authorities all over the country.
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Management of irregularities in procurements In accordance with the PPL (Law No. 9643 of 20.11.2006, “On public procurement�, as amended), irregularities in public procurement system in Albania are mainly managed through the review and monitoring mechanisms. Review functions are carried out by the Public Procurement Commission.
Monitoring and control duties are at the competence of the PPA.
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Monitoring competence of PPA In order to fulfill such competence, PPA does prepare 3-month monitoring plans, which define the contracting authorities and the procedures to be controlled. These plans are prepared on the basis of statistics carried out by PPA, and also based on different incentives submitted by economic operators, that pretend law infringements by the side of contracting authorities. PPA proceeds with monitoring of procedures after the procurement contract was signed.
The monitoring process aims the identification of contracting authorities’ shortages, in respecting the legal and sub-legal requirements when conducting the procedures, and provision of the respective interpretation for the right implementation of legislation. In case of law infringements, PPA has the power to decide administrative measures for the responsible procurement employees. During 2014, PPA monitored and issued with decision for about 81 public procurement procedures.
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Audit reports Another way of monitoring, performed in the framework of managing the irregularities and properly enforcing the legislation, is made through analyzing the recommendations coming from auditing institutions.
Audit authorities (Supreme State Audit and Internal Audits of other institutions) send for competence to the PPA their findings, based on which the latter examines the actions or non actions of contracting authorities, and in case of noticing any law infringement, PPA assigns the respective administrative measures. This aims the uniformity of decisions given for public procurement procedures.
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E-procurement in Albania E-procurement in Albania end Public Procurement Platform is in approach to the Green Public Procurement
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Thank you! Gjergji Moรงka Director for the information Technology, Public Procurement Agency, Tirana, Albania Gjergjimocka@gmail.com
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