F.A.Q.

Frequently Asked Questions about public procurement in Kosovo

What is public procurement?

Public procurement is about how public authorities (institutions) spend public money when procuring goods, works or services in the market. What’s important in this area is that taxpayers’ money is spent effectively, delivering better benefits to the citizen. During the life cycle of an activity, the public procurement process goes through eight essential steps:

  1. STEP 1 – Procurement Planning
  2. STEP 2 – Value Forecasting and Contract Classification
  3. STEP 3 – Defining the Procurement Procedure
  4. STEP 4 – Preparation of the Tender Dossier
  5. STEP 5 – Publication
  6. STEP 6 – Opening and Evaluation of Bids
  7. STEP 7 – Contract Award and Signing
  8. STEP 8 – Contract Management.

Legislation that regulates public procurement in Kosovo?

The principles of public spending are regulated by article 120 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. Whereas the obligations to protect these principles are regulated by:

  • Law on Public Procurement in the Republic of Kosovo no. 04/L-042, amended and supplemented by Law No. 04/L-237, Law No. 05/L-068 and Law No. 05/L-092, and
  • By-laws.

What are the key institutions in public procurement and what is their role?

Public Procurement Regulatory Commission (PPRC)
Role: Drafts laws, rules and instructions of Public Procurement, provides advice, information and opinions on legal provisions, monitors the public procurement process in the Republic of Kosovo.
Address: Former Gërmia Building, zone B, 10000   Prishtina
Tel.: + 383 (0) 38 213 709
e-mail: rregullat.krpp@rks-gov.net
Web page: https://e-prokurimi.rks-gov.net/HOME/ClanakItemNew.aspx
www.krpp.rks-gov.net

Procurement Review Body (PRB)
Role: The Procurement Review Body is responsible for performing the functions assigned to it under the Law on Public Procurement in Kosovo (handling complaints regarding the criteria of Tender Dossiers, or evaluation of bids and other legal violations for each announced tender) and dealing with legal violations when granting concessions.
Address: Str. “MIGJENI” (Former Banka e Lublanës, Floor V), Prishtina, Kosovo
Tel.: + 383 38 212 309
e-mail: oshp@rks-gov.net
Web page: https://oshp.rks-gov.net/sq/Default/Home

ANTI-CORRRUPTION AGENCY (ACA)
Role: Deals with suspicions of corruption and conflict of interest in public processes.
Phone: +383 (0) 38 518-907; +383 (200) 10-716
E-mail: info@akk-ks.org
Web page: https://www.akk-ks.org

KOSOVO COMPETITION AUTHORITY (KCA)
Role: Deals with suspicions of violation of the principles of equal treatment, preference or harm to competition:
Address: Str. Migjeni, Floor VI, (Former Banka e Lublanës), Prishtina, Kosovo
Tel.: +381 (0) 38 200 10982
E-mail: info.konkurrenca@rks-gov.net
Ueb faqja: https://ak.rks-gov.net

CENTRAL PROCUREMENT AGENCY (CPA)
Role: Performs joint procurement procedures of the same nature (e.g. supply with fuel, expandable material, food, information technology, etc.) for all contracting authorities:
Address: Boulevard Mother Tereza, Gërmia Building – Zone A, Floor IV, Prishtina, Kosovo
Tel.: +383 (0) 38-200-15502; +383 (0) 38-200-15503
E-mail: infoaqp@rks-gov.net
Web page: https://aqp.rks-gov.net/kontakti/

How can the documents of a tender / contract be obtained?

  1. The tender dossier and the decisions of contracting authorities can be provided on the electronic public procurement platform e-Procurement (https://e-prokurimi.rks-gov.net/HOME/ClanakItemNew.aspx?id=327) under “Notices – Procurements”. To access this information, you need to register on the platform. Instructions on how to register can be found on the login page, under the “MANUALS” button of this platform (https://e-prokurimi.rks-gov.net/Home/ClanakItemNew.aspx?id=378). Whereas under the item “TRAINING” you can find training material drafted by PPRC and KIPA for the procurement process (https://e-prokurimi.rks-gov.net/Home/ClanakItemNew.aspx?id=277).
  2. Complaints of economic operators, and decisions of the PRB regarding such complaints can be provided on the platform of the PRB, under the item “COMPLAINTS” (https://oshp.rks-gov.net/sq/ProcurementActivities/Search). However, you can find here only the complaints and decisions as of December 2019, when the PRB launched the new site. Earlier records can be found on the “ARCHIVE” item on the same platform (https://oshp.rks-gov.net/sq/Pages/Details?id=79)
  3. The opinions of the Anti-Corruption Agency can be found on the platform (https://www.akk-ks.org/)
  4. Public contract documents can also be found on the websites of the municipalities under the procurement module of each municipality. https://kk.rks-gov.net/#lista
  5. Furthermore, laws on the budget, which define the nature and limits of public spending can be found on the website of the Ministry of Finance under Reports and Publications (https://mf.rks-gov.net/page.aspx?id=1,121) while under the transparency platform of the same ministry, you can find quarterly and annual reports of institutional expenditures (https://ptmf.rks-gov.net/page.aspx?id=1,1)
  6. The Civil Society Platform (FOL) provides quick access to the summary of procurements such as which institution has awarded what contracts, what was their value, and which companies are profiting the most (https://www.prokurimihapur.org/). However, as this platform receives data directly from the e-procurement platform, if the platform lacks specific information about a tender, it will not be published in prokurimi i hapur (open procurement).
  7. A good platform to perform analysis as to who are the owners of companies that are winning most of the public tenders is also the civil society platform (OpenDataKosovo – ODK) http://biznesetehapura.com/sq, which is provided with data by the Kosovo Business Registration Agency – KBRA (https://arbk.rks-gov.net/)

What are the red flags that raise suspicions of corruption or mismanagement in public procurement?

Some of the indicators of misuse and mismanagement in public procurement are as follows:

  • Adjusting technical specifications for certain Economic Operators;
  • Additional information for certain Economic Operators;
  • Disqualification of potential Economic Operators through unlisted criteria;
  • Cooperation to adjust the bid price;
  • The supplier may offer goods or services that are not similar to those in the offer;
  • Pressure made on the evaluation commission;
  • Conflict of interest;
  • Receiving items or services not in compliance with the provisions of the contract or delivering a smaller quantity than the quantity ordered;
  • Ordering items or services for the private needs of officials and paying for them from the public budget;
  • Establishment of private companies in the name of friends or relatives and awarding contracts to them, etc.

What are the consequences of corruption and mismanagement in public procurement?

About 40% of Kosovo’s budget is spent annually through public procurement. Misuse of these expenditures have a negative effect in the development and well-being of the citizen of Kosovo. Some of the negative effects are as follows:

  • Spending public money on projects that benefit public officials rather than the society;
  • Less sports and culture (exhibitions, theatre, movies, etc.);
  • Less development, free market, fair competition, new jobs;
  • Poor services and investments that we have to repay.