This activity supports the ongoing efforts of Kosovo’s government institutions and independent agencies to strengthen accountability and effectiveness in public procurement to improve public services and enhance public trust, especially at the municipal level.  Through working with local partners, the activity is strengthening key government champions and promoting local change, creating sustainable impact.  The activity provides comprehensive assistance in five focus municipalities (Vushtrri, Gjakovë, Pejë, Prishtinë, and Gjilan) through day-to-day mentoring, training, and coaching to institute systems that will improve how they account for public funds and expenditures. In addition, the activity is training municipal procurement officers from all 38 Kosovo municipalities on the basics of the procurement cycle and coaching on how to collaborate with other municipal partners.  

KEY OBJECTIVES 

Develop, Refine and Roll Out Models for Transparent and Accountable Municipalities

Working in partnership with mayors, municipal assemblies and their committees, procurement officers, auditors, and others, the project trains, coaches, and provides support to municipal employees to increase procurement effectiveness. The project supports the ongoing rollout of an electronic procurement system combined with support for internal controls, data collection, and monitoring. 

Engage the Central Level in Addressing Effectiveness and Transparency in the Municipal the Procurement Process

The project partners with relevant entities within the central Government of Kosovo and independent agencies, including the Ministry of Finance, especially the Central Harmonization Unit, the Public Procurement Regulatory Commission, Kosovo Institute for Public Administration, Office of the Auditor General, and the Anti-Corruption Agency.   

Improve Civil Society Monitoring and Oversight

Working with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in all 38 municipalities to strengthen CSO capacities to collect, analyze, and share data as well as facilitate cooperation between CSOs and with the media. This component will ensure that more CSOs are knowledgeable and active in identifying and reporting cases of municipal corruption.

KEY RESULTS   

• The Public Procurement Regulatory Commission (PPRC) fully adopted electronic procurement and expanded the functionality of the e-Procurement platform. Now, all contracting authorities must publish procurement contract data on the electronic platform. Currently there are 12,282 public contracts available to citizens on this platform.
• Supported the establishment of an Anti-Fraud Unit at the National Audit Office, which in two years of existence identified 87 public procurement cases containing suspected fraud elements and processed them to the State Prosecutor.
• 24 Kosovo municipalities voluntarily published 2,895 procurement contracts on their municipal websites.
• Supported the creation of the Open Procurement Transparency Portal, a civil society-led web-based portal that automatically pulls data from the Government’s e-procurement platform and presents it in a user-friendly manner, allowing researchers to explore interactive linkages between public money, government agencies, and private sector contractors, and to identify unusual patterns that may indicate fraud or corruption.
• Initiated the assessment of corruption vulnerabilities at the Procurement Review Body (PRB) and is assisting implementation of the recommendations.
• Supported the efforts of local CSO such as Kosova Democratic Institute (KDI), Levizja FOL, Democracy Plus, Riinvest, BIRN, and others to monitoring municipal-level procurements and reporting on suspected incidences of corruption, fraud, waste, or abuse. They are also reporting improvements in processes and good practices.
• Trained more than 1,000 government officials, private sector economic operators, and civil society representatives in a range of topics including basic procurement, electronic procurement, contract management, and internal audit.

Project Duration:   January 2017 – January 2022                                                           

Partner:                      DAI Global LLC

Contact:                     Jeton Cana