Public procurement refers to the purchase of goods, works, and services from private companies by public institutions. Government procures such goods, works, and services to fix roads, build schools, or buy medical equipment for citizens. Fair competition, equal treatment, and transparency are necessary to ensure Government is spending public money efficiently and effectively and delivering high quality goods and services to citizens. Citizen: I wanted to track and monitor changes in the municipality, like fixing the lights at the National Library Park. But I had no information about the companies doing the works, or who awarded the contracts to these companies. Simply, there was no information. BIRN: Reporters and journalists around Kosovo were stuck because we could only secure access to documents that covered the first phase of procurement up to signing of the contract , but not more information after that. USAID’s Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipalities activity supported the process of opening procurement contracts by working together with municipalities, central public institutions, and civil society organizations. D+: For many years, we had advocated and worked with institutions to open contracts. Gjakova was the first municipality to start publishing contracts, and then we had a snowball effect, other municipalities quickly followed suit. The Procurement Office at the Municipality was fully on board from the outset. Actually, they were very proactive in disclosing these documents. We had significant support from USAID’s project in our office. On screen text / narration: In July, 2018, the Municipality of Gjakova published all of their procurement contracts on the Municipal web site. The Municipalities of Peja, Prishtina, Vushtrri, and Gjilane followed suit. Today, 18 municipalities have voluntarily disclosed more than 900 procurement contracts online. Building on this momentum, the Public Procurement Regulatory Commission at the central level issued a regulation requiring all government agencies at all levels to open their procurement contracts to the public on the government’s electronic procurement platform. PPRC: To increase transparency, the PPRC took concrete actions. All contracting authorities are now mandated to publish their contracts. All stakeholders including the general public, the media, and NGOs can easily access these public contracts between businesses and government contracting authorities. This form of transparency ensures citizens will be able to know how their money is spent. BIRN: For investigative journalists, contract disclosure is a gold mine. We can now fulfill our responsibility to the public by reporting from the beginning until completion of a public contract. Aferdita Kosovo institutions, by publishing their contracts on the electronic platform and their websites, have taken a major step towards enhanced transparency and accountability. Gjakova Municipality This is transparency… ultimately, there’s no logical reason why documents shouldn’t be disclosed. PPRC USAID’s close cooperation with the PPRC and civil society has delivered results we are all happy with. Gjakova municipality Citizens are informed about how their money is spent. Aferdita This level of transparency encourages Kosovo citizens to demand an even more accountable governance system. My friend told me that the Municipality of Pristina posts all contracts awarded to fix the city on their website. There’s information on project duration, costs, and the company that was awarded the contract. So, if you’re interested in public works, you can access all contracts. Breakthrough change is happening: Be part of the transformation in public procurement and join the fight against corruption. #meLetraQelë USAID Logo Project title and disclaimer