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Mongolia

Make Government Procurement Process Transparent (MN0031)

Overview

At-a-Glance

Action Plan: Mongolia Action Plan 2016-2018

Action Plan Cycle: 2016

Status: Inactive

Institutions

Lead Institution: Central Government Authority

Support Institution(s): Government Procurement Agency, All ministries and agencies; World Bank, SCO and Private Sector

Policy Areas

Anti-Corruption Institutions, Audits and Controls, E-Government, Fiscal Transparency, Open Contracting and Procurement, Public Participation, Records Management

IRM Review

IRM Report: Mongolia Mid-Term Report 2016-2018

Starred: No

Early Results: Pending IRM Review

Design i

Verifiable: Yes

Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information

Potential Impact:

Implementation i

Completion:

Description

Status quo or problem addressed by the commitment: Mongolia has made significant achievements regarding making the government procurement process transparent to the public; this comes as a result of actions and initiatives spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and Government Procurement Agency (GPA). Progressive changes were made in the Law on Purchasing and Procuring Goods and Services for Government and Local Resources in 2011 and 2014 and started using the online platform to make procurement processes transparent to the public. GPA is currently working on to create an online system to provide an opportunity for the public to receive information to support the productive engagement of this pool. The World Bank requested that the Ministry of Finance and GPA align this initiative with an International initiative on Open Contract Data Standards and that all stakeholders cooperate on this matter. Main Objective: Make government procurement processes transparent to the public Brief Description of commitment (140 character limit): Fully introduce the international initiative of Open Control Data Standards to government procurement activities

IRM Midterm Status Summary

10. Promoting transparency of public procurement process

Commitment Text:

Fully introduce the international initiative of Open Contracting Data Standards to government procurement activities.

Status quo or problem addressed:

Mongolia has made significant achievements on regard to making the government/budget procurement process transparent to the public; this comes as a result of actions and initiatives spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and Government Procurement Agency (GPA). Progressive legal changes were made into the Law on Purchasing and Procuring Goods and Services with the State and Local Resources and Budget in 2011 and 2014. Started using an online platform to make procurement processes transparent to the public.

GPA is currently working on to reform the online system in order to make the procurement process fully open and transparent, and also to increase accessibilities for citizens to get information, and to encourage citizens’ constructive engagement and participation. The Ministry of Finance and GPA requested the World Bank to support to align their initiative on the procurement with the Open Contracting Data Standard, an international initiative for open government etc. Therefore the parties do cooperate on this matter.

Main Objective:

Make government procurement processes transparent to the public.

Milestones:

10.1. Openly disseminate invitations to participate in bidding for government procurements and inform process and outcomes of the bid through the online procurement platform.

10.2. Monitor whether rights and obligations of the ordering party are implemented by clause 46.1.9, article 46 of the Law on Purchasing and Procuring Goods and Services with Government and Local Resources.

10.3. Disclose annual procurement plans, reports and assessments of the general budget managers to the public.

Responsible institution: Central Government Authority responsible for budget and financing issues

Supporting institutions: Government Procurement Agency, all ministries, and agencies, the World Bank, CSOs, and Private Sector

Start date: 30 June 2016

End date: 30 June 2018

Context and Objectives

This commitment aims to make government procurement processes more transparent to the public by introducing the Open Contracting Partnership’s Open Contracting Data Standard.[Note98: For more information on the Open Contracting Data Standard, see: http://standard.open-contracting.org/latest/en/.] More specifically, it plans to 1) openly disseminate invitations, processes, and outcomes of bids for procurement, 2) monitor the effectiveness of Article 46.1.9, of the 2005 Law on Procurement of Goods, Works, and Services with State and Local Funds,[Note99: Law of Mongolia on Procurement of Goods , Works and Services with State and Local Funds, available here: http://crc.gov.mn/contents//en/raw/12/30/24/7._Procurement.pdf.] and 3) disclose to the public budget managers’ annual procurement plans, reports, and assessments. In doing so, the commitment continues the theme of disclosing procurement contracts that began with Commitment 3.3.1.8 from the previous action plan, which called for the disclosure of procurement contracts above 80 million MNT.

The dissemination of information on the bidding process for procurements and the disclosure of annual procurement reports and assessments make the commitment relevant to the OGP value of access to information. The commitment’s activities are mostly verifiable, although there are some important details missing in each of the milestones. For example, it is unclear how the effectiveness of Article 46.1.9 of the Law on Procurement of Goods, Works, and Services with State and Local Funds will be monitored. Therefore, the specificity is marked as medium. The open dissemination of bidding invitations and awarding of procurement and the disclosure of annual procurement plans, reports, and assessments are important initiatives toward greater transparency in government procurements. However, without greater details on how the Open Contracting Data Standard will be introduced to government procurement processes, it is likely the commitment will not have greater than a moderate potential impact on transparency in Mongolia.

Completion

The Mongolian government publishes procurement tenders, contract amounts, participating bids, and results on the e-procurement website, http://www.tender.gov.mn. However, this website already existed by the end of the previous action plan period (June 2016). The IRM asked the government to specify how the website has changed since that time, as well as the extent to which the Open Contracting Data Standard has been fully introduced. For more details, see Section VI: Methodology and Sources. According to a 2016 UN report on Mongolia’s public procurement framework, the procuring entity must post the tender invitation through nationwide daily newspapers and other forms of mass media.[Note100: United Nations, 'Review of the Public Procurement Legal Framework of Mongolia,' August 2016, http://www.un-page.org/files/public/mongolia_legalreview_final_1.pdf.] However, the extent to which these invitations, annual procurement plans, and budgets are openly disseminated to the public is unclear.

Next Steps

Going forward, the IRM recommends that the government provide an update on its progress toward implementing this commitment. If it is not fully implemented during the current action plan period, the IRM recommends incorporating this commitment into the next action plan. In particular, publishing each step of the contracting process and creating a feedback mechanism for engaging stakeholders in the planning and awarding of procurement contracts would be a major step forward for transparency in Mongolia.

Commitments

  1. Mobile Application for Citizens Feedback and Requests

    MN0022, 2016, E-Government

  2. Starred commitment Improve Provision and Quality of Education and Health Services

    MN0023, 2016, E-Government

  3. Civic Engagement in Decision Making

    MN0024, 2016, Legislation & Regulation

  4. Transparent Funding of Political Parties

    MN0025, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  5. Create Favourable Environment for Media and Journalism

    MN0026, 2016, Civic Space

  6. National Action Plan for Combating Corruption

    MN0027, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  7. Transparency of Loans and Aid from Foreign Countries

    MN0028, 2016, Aid

  8. Online Registration of VAT

    MN0029, 2016, Capacity Building

  9. Improve Glass Account System

    MN0030, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  10. Make Government Procurement Process Transparent

    MN0031, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  11. Transparency of Contracts of Public Resource Exploiting

    MN0032, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  12. Information Transparency of the Owners of the Entities with Rights to Use Mineral Resources

    MN0033, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  13. Make Licenses, Information and Activities of the Companies Transparent and Effective by Government

    MN0034, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  14. Monitor and Ensure Implementation of Information Transparency and Information Access Right Act by Establishing National Information Transparency Committee and Creating Structure of Information Commissary.

    MN0001, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  15. Modernize Performance Indicators of Information Transparency of Public Organizations Into ―”Citizen Targeted” Ones.

    MN0002, 2014, Capacity Building

  16. Starred commitment Launch ―Transparent Account Systemǁ in Order to Enable Consistent, Transparent Reporting to the Public and to Provide Comprehensive Information on Budget Revenue Collection, Income and Expenditure Details, as Well as Public Procurement and Investments.

    MN0003, 2014, Fiscal Transparency

  17. Develop Central Information Database of Minerals, Oil, and Land Tenure License Owners, Open to the Public.

    MN0004, 2014, E-Government

  18. Ensure Transparency All Agreements on Investment, Stability and Production- Sharing of Public-Owned Resources Such as Water, Minerals, Oil and Land.

    MN0005, 2014, Extractive Industries

  19. Starred commitment Publish List of Mandatory Public Information on Environment Such as Information Regarding Any Action Harmful to Natural Environment and People’S Health.

    MN0006, 2014, Environment and Climate

  20. Starred commitment Disclose Information to the Public Relating to Foreign Loan Assistance Projects and Programs, Including the Total Amounts, Terms, Payback Duration and General Provisions Related to the Loan Rate, Board Members, and Implementation Bodies. Information About the Terms of Implementation of the Projects as Well as General Conditions of Contracts Between Suppliers and Buyers Shall Be Disclosed as Well.

    MN0007, 2014, Aid

  21. Disclose Budget Funded Procurement Contracts Above 80.0 Million MNT

    MN0008, 2014, Open Contracting and Procurement

  22. Ensure Civic Engagement in Planning and Developing Public Services at Central and Local Levels by Introducing Communication Channels Such as Organizing e-Conferences, Public Hearings, and Open Meetings.

    MN0009, 2014, Public Participation

  23. Launch “Smart Government” Program, for Delivering e-Public Services to the People Regardless of Distance and Location Through the Public Service Portal.

    MN0010, 2014, E-Government

  24. Create a Single Access Public Service for Citizens Without Requiring Supplementary State Registered Data, Based on Principles of “One Citizen-One Public Servant”.

    MN0011, 2014, Public Service Delivery

  25. Improve and Develop Smart e-Service Capability for “One Window-Public Service” and Introduce It as a Standard Unit of Public Service.

    MN0012, 2014, E-Government

  26. Increase Number of “Public Service Online Machines” at Local Levels for Delivering Public Services to Individuals in Remote Areas, as Well as Increase the Content of Its Data.

    MN0013, 2014, E-Government

  27. Report Public Feedback on Government Performance Received from the Government’S “11-11” Center. Government Shall Also Establish a Data System That Responds to and Tracks Petitions and Enquiries.

    MN0014, 2014, Public Participation

  28. Develop and Publish E-Mapping of Crime Occurrence.

    MN0015, 2014, E-Government

  29. Create a United Information Database on Law Enforcement Activities, Crimes and Violation Records, and Ensure That the Database Is Accessible to Relevant Bodies.

    MN0016, 2014, E-Government

  30. Introduce a System of Random Disclosure to the Public of Asset and Financial Statements of Any Public Servants.

    MN0017, 2014, Asset Disclosure

  31. Publish the Asset and Financial Statements of Officials Who Work in Organizations with a High Likelihood of Corruption Index on Websites and Ensure Citizen Monitoring.

    MN0018, 2014, Asset Disclosure

  32. Create Regulation That Repeals Decisions Made Without Due Participation of Citizens and Contradict Public Interests, as Well as Hold the Officials at Fault Accountable.

    MN0019, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  33. Deliver the Draft Laws, Acts, Amendments and Administrative Rules to Public Attention in Due Time. in Particular, Create an Opportunity for People to Access Such Information from “Public Service Online Machines”, Citizens Chambers, and the Public Libraries at Each Provincial Level.

    MN0020, 2014, Capacity Building

  34. Strengthen the Capacity of Citizens by Implementing Certain Projects to Enhance Legal Knowledge of Target Groups Using Simple Language.

    MN0021, 2014, Capacity Building