The amended Law “On Defence Procurement” introduces more transparency to procurement, which is not classified.
On February 7, 2023, the Parliament voted to amend the Law “On Defence Procurement”. 290 MPs supported the initiative
The Draft Law №8381 adds new wartime defence procurement principles to the ones adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers on November 2022. Now procurement, which is not a subject of state secret, must be held competitively, open and transparent, and comply with anti-corruption, anti-discrimination and anti-misuse principles.
The amendments also introduce reporting on the non-classified part of defence procurement. In particular, it must mention:
- the name of a government customer;
- the subject of purchase’s name;
- the price per product/service unit.
The changes in the Law also provide for publishing comprehensive information on the cost components of food products and other services, which are included in the total cost of food supply services.
These amendments reacted to the recent food supply scandal, which resulted from classifying all of the defence procurement when the full-scale invasion began and despite civil society’s discontent.
NAKO sincerely welcomes these amendments. The decision to open procurements that are not critical to national security will help minimise corruption and increase public trust.
At the same time, we should also emphasise that increasing the transparency of defence procurement is only one step in an extensive system of decisions. Issues of the very coherence of the procurement system, as well as effective (internal and external) control over it, remain relevant.