The bidding grievance handling mechanism needs to be renovated to ensure transparency and keep pace with the country’s rapid international integration, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dao Quang Thu said yesterday.

Thu addressed an international workshop on independent procurement grievance handing mechanisms in Viet Nam co-organised by the ministry and the World Bank in Ha Noi yesterday.

The workshop was an opportunity for policymakers to study international practices in grievance handling mechanism so as to raise amendments to the bidding regulations towards compliance with modernity.

Thu said that grievance handling mechanisms in Viet Nam were revealed to have shortcomings, while the country’s rapid international integration requires more transparency in bidding or public procurement.

Le Van Tang, former Director of Bidding Management Department, said that it is critical to improve bidding transparency and the economic efficiency of using the State budget.

The Bidding Law 43/2013 already has significant improvements but still needs to be amended to keep pace with integration, Tang said.

World Bank research shows that public procurement accounts for the biggest proportion of annual Government spending, at around 15-20 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) of countries around the world.

In Viet Nam, public spending jumped from 28.5 per cent of GDP in 2001-05 period to 29.73 per cent in 2006-10. From 2011-13, the Government tightened spending with aims to stabilise the macro-economy and curb inflation, but spending remained high at 28.15 per cent of GDP.

Tang said that an independent mechanism in grievance handling is critical to ensure transparency and efficiency in public procurement.

Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, deputy dean of International Trade Law Falcuty, said that several bidding regulations remain muddled and obscure. “Viet Nam needs to review and improve bidding regulations,” Hien said, adding that the foundation of an independent administrative agency for handling grievance should be put into consideration.

Accountability in bidding must also be enhanced, Daniel I.Gordon from George Washington University Law School added. — VNS