Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

Good Practices and InnovATIONS in Public Governance
every step, it was often the case that some documents were removed from the application
folder or additions were made at a later date. The bid-evaluation phase also
lacked transparency. All these problems led to many complaints, especially regarding
the inaccessibility of tender documents. Before the implementation of ALBEPS, the
average number of complaints per year was 1,023; afterward, the number dropped to
about 600 complaints per year.
The Solution
On 20 November 2006, the Albanian government approved a new law on public
procurement, No. 9643. This law marked the first step in aligning Albania’s procurement
system with the guidelines set out in an earlier European Union directive on the
topic, Directive 2004/18/EC.
The electronic procurement system in Albania (ALBEPS) was part of a broader Albanian
initiative for e-government supported initially by the Millennium Challenge
Albania Threshold Agreement (MCATA), a two-year partnership between the Albanian
government and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (a U.S. foreign-aid
agency). One of the aims of MCATA, which began in 2006 and was administered by
the U.S. Agency for International Development, was to reform the public procurement
system through the use of new technology.
Albania’s Public Procurement Agency, as the central institution responsible for the
government’s purchasing activities, has been involved from the beginning in this
important initiative. ALBEPS was launched in 2008, and that year represented the
first phase of implementation. Because this was considered a testing phase, a limited
number of contracting authorities—15—were selected to use the e-procurement system
for their procurement procedures. During 2008, e-procurement accounted for 2
percent of all procurement activity, leading to greater transparency, cost savings, and
more bidders. In light of these results, and after some necessary improvements, the
Council of Ministers decided on 21 January 2009 that all contracting authorities in
Albania should perform their procurement procedures through e-procurement. This
signalled the second phase of the implementation of ALBEPS.
The electronic public procurement system reduces the time it takes to process bids,
eliminates unnecessary documents and facilitates and standardizes the process of
publishing tender conditions. Likewise, it guarantees the secrecy of bids, and at the
opening of the procedures, it allows for the simultaneous publication of the offers.
Moreover, the electronic system generates reports subject to outside review, thus reducing
the possibility of corruption. The system furthermore makes it easier for businesses
to bid on contracts, since they can promptly get information online about the
procurement process and then submit their offers electronically from their workplace,
without having to present themselves in person to the contracting authorities.
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