WB names 5 public procurement challenges in Azerbaijan

Reform in public procurement may further support fiscal transparency because a large share of the annual budget is utilized through public procurement, Report informs, citing the World Bank 2022 Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) Update on Azerbaijan.

“According to official figures, 6.6 billion manats ($3.88 billion) in public funds were spent on public procurement contracts in Azerbaijan in 2020, which represents almost 25 percent of state expenditures (the approved state budget in 2020 was manat 26.4 billion). The public procurement law was amended in 2018, strengthening the link between procurement planning and the budgeting process and introducing e-procurement and a code of conduct for procurement staff.

The State Procurement Agency that was tasked with the implementation of the law was abolished in January 2016, and, since then, implementation is controlled by the State Service for Antimonopoly Policy and Consumer Market Control in the Ministry of Economy,” reads the SCD update.

However, according to the World Bank, there are still challenges, such as (1) the large number of single sourced and direct contracts, (2) the large number of failing bidders during the evaluation of open tenders, (3) the limitations and lack of flexibility of the current e-procurement system, (4) the lack of adequate public oversight and access to procurement-related information, and (5) the need for professionalization among public procurement experts.

“The COVID-19 outbreak led to an increased rate of direct contracting. The new public procurement law has been drafted and is awaiting review and approval by the Cabinet of Ministers,” says the WB update.