The Public Procurement Law of Mongolia (PPLM), came into being in May 2000. The Ministry of Finance’s Procurement Policy and Coordination Department (PPCD) designs the policy and standards, provides professional and training services, and reviews complaints. Specific government agencies administer their own procurements through the Evaluation and Tender Committees. The head of the procuring entity makes the final decision. Open competitive tendering is Mongolia’s primary method. Lower value contracts or urgent situations may make use of restricted tendering, quotations, or direct contracting. Prequalification is also employed in large civil works.
To standardize the procedures, model tender documents and form contracts are prepared and published in the websites of the Parliament and the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs. For transparency, government agencies are required utilize mass media for publishing the list of goods and works to be procured every fiscal year and for advertising invitations to tender. Proper handling of tenders requires public opening; evaluation should consider price and other non-discriminatory criteria such as quality and technical merit. Post-award negotiations are prohibited. In case of failure, open/restricted tender or direct contracting may be considered. In securing the integrity of the procurement process, Mongolia has adopted the Code of Ethics for Civil Servants Conducting Procurement and is creating a national training network for procurement professionals. Sanctions against tender committee officials and bidders may also be passed on erring parties. Review mechanisms are available to address complaints; procurement transactions are also subject to audit. However, the Mongolian government has yet to articulate in its policy the value of citizens participation in the procurement process.
To promote procurement monitoring among Mongolian citizens groups, ANSA-EAP has gathered 16 organizations to comprise the country’s sub-network on procurement. Being the first of its kind in Mongolia, its formation has high potential of providing alternative and complementary assessment of the effectiveness of the implementation of the PPLM. The law was passed in 2000 and recently amended in 2007, but with very minimal participation of the citizen sector.
The Mongolian sub-network on procurement formulates its objectives in terms of building the members’ capacity on the procurement process and building partnerships to monitor procurement. It also seeks to influence the legal framework and improve access to procurement-related information. For its engagement with ANSA-EAP, it shall seek support to (a) organize and strengthen the sub-network, (b) run advocacies and partnerships with government for procurement-related monitoring, (c) conduct forums to share experiences in procurement advocacies.