04.06.2013.
Source : http://usembassysarajevo.blogspot.com/
Ambassador’s notes: Embassy Sarajevo
Last September, at a speech I delivered at the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies in Washington, D.C., I spoke about the halting political progress here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, noting that all too often it feels like “two steps forward, one step back.” It is unfortunate, but I now believe that forward progress has halted on BiH’s paths toward NATO and the EU, denying citizens the benefits of full integration into Europe. This backward movement seems particularly obvious when I reflect on recently proposed changes to three important laws. My concerns lie not only with the content of the proposed changes to these three laws, but also the way they are being put forward. Many citizens of this country, particularly members of the media and NGO communities, have expressed their concerns to me and have asked me to join them, by speaking out and drawing attention to these important issues.
Undoubtedly, BiH’s public procurement laws are inadequate and desperately need reform. Public procurement is one of the largest sources of fraud and corruption in many countries and BiH is no exception. As my EU colleagues will tell you, BiH is the only country in the region which has not yet transposed the nearly 10-year-old EU Directives on Public Procurement into law. BiH’s public procurement laws must be reformed in a way that improves transparency and strengthens accountability. While there are several proposals for changing existing procurement laws I believe the best place to start making revisions is with NGOs and, in particular, the EU, which have expertise on these issues – limiting discussions to the office of a political party would be a grave mistake. These independent experts advocate for 1) opening up the process, 2) ensuring public officials who work on procurement have the right skills and training, 3) holding those individuals and organizations responsible for their decisions, 4) decentralizing the appeal process, and, for the first time, 5) introducing anti-corruption measures and sanctions for violating the law. So far, only a number of less useful changes to the public procurement law have been proposed. I believe authorities can and should take into account the insights and the expertise of NGOs focusing on procurement to get these changes right the first time – this is the practice in most democratic societies – and to make sure the result will help BiH make progress toward aligning its laws with EU standards.
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