On May 23, during a government meeting, the Armenian Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan presented a project aimed at simplifying the conditions for public oversight of the implementation of contracts concluded through procurement procedures.
According to the Armenian Law "On Procurement," adopted over two years ago, public organizations, investigative journalists, and non-winning bidders have the right to oversee the execution of contracts and provide advisory opinions.
However, as Hovhannisyan noted, the complex participation procedure has led to low civic engagement in this area.
The new government resolution aims to simplify this process. The Ministry of Finance will maintain a list of NGOs and journalists, inclusion in which will allow them not to contact the procuring entity for each contract.
To be included in the list, organizations will need to provide an email address, a copy of the registration certificate, observer data, and a statement committing not to participate in the acceptance of contract results in case of a conflict of interest.
"Organizations are obliged to act reasonably, not interfere with the course of construction work, and comply with safety standards," Hovhannisyan emphasized.
The list will be open and indefinite. In the future, additional requirements for NGOs and their representatives will be discussed to enhance transparency and capacity building.
