As part of the EU-funded project “Strengthening the Public Procurement System in BiH” a ceremony of awarding certificates to authorized public procurement trainers was held today at the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 66 lecturers have been certified under this project, which will improve the process of implementation of adequate public procurement rules and procedures.

Head of Justice, Home Affairs and Public Administration Reform Section at the EU Delegation to BiH, Nicolas Bizel, pointed out that training and capacity building of all officials in Contracting Authorities involved in public procurement activities as well as the use of IT based instruments like e-procurement are key to curb the level of corruption and reduce potential for fraud:“Transparency, integrity and accountability are some of the basic principles in the field of public procurement, and you, as certified trainers, will continue to pass them on to those you will train and thus contribute to the advancement of this process,” said Bizel.

The project “Strengthening the Public Procurement System in BiH”, began in February 2019 and is funded by the European Union in the amount of €2 million from IPA funds. The aim of the project is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of the public procurement system in Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with EU standards.

BiH Minister of Justice, Josip Grubeša, stressed the importance of the IPA II project for the entire BiH public procurement system, emphasizing the transfer of knowledge and experience of certified lecturers to public procurement officials in institutions at all levels of government.

Acting Director of the Public Procurement Agency of BiH, Đanan Salčin, welcomed all present, congratulated the authorized lecturers, and emphasized: “At this moment we need to focus on the professionalization of public procurement, a large number of new certified lecturers is progress for the whole public procurement system in our state. And what is also very important is that executives at institutions recognize the importance of officers for each organization.”

So far, there have been 70 certified trainers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as of today, another 66 have been certified to hold training in public procurement. Increasing the number of certified lecturers to 136 persons is another concrete step towards the professionalization of public procurement in Bosnia and Herzegovina.