To tackle corruption and attract more suppliers to the public procurement market, Moldova is piloting a new, radically transparent e-procurement system called MTender with the support of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The MTender’s web portal allows anyone to access timely, user-friendly information on more than 60,000 procurements conducted during 2017 to 2019. The early results are positive but MTender remains controversial and its future hangs in the balance. This blog looks at progress, challenges and what could help the work on open contracting in Moldova get to even more impact.

MTender has allowed Moldova to save 14% on competitive tenders (saving US$27.5 million) and its supplier base has increased by 30% since October 2018, when its use became mandatory for public sector buyers in Moldova. Users’ perceptions are positive too: an OCP survey of procuring entities and bidders showed that 70% of respondents found the system useful for their work. Not everyone is happy though: 19% said they were “dissatisfied” with the system.

Finally, civil society is using the data to build their own tools – including a citizen monitoring portal that crowdsources feedback to improve procurement processes – and to track procurement of critical items like medicines (Moldova has amongst the highest rates of HIV and tuberculosis infection in Europe). These efforts are in their infancy but are ready to scale.

https://www.open-contracting.org/2019/12/11/opening-up-moldovas-contracts-progress-and-challenges/