Armenia

Issue(s):

The legal framework excludes public private partnerships and concessions, contains broad exceptions to competitive procurement, lacks provisions on sustainable public procurement and international competition, and provides limited regulation for framework agreements and centralised procurement. Weak bidder eligibility rules, legal inconsistencies relating to confidentiality, limited contract performance monitoring and an over reliance on lowest price evaluation reduce effectiveness and integrity.

Recommendations:

• Revise the Public Procurement Law and regulations to strengthen competition, 
• introduce framework agreements, sustainable public procurement and international competitive bidding, 
• regulate procurement under public private partnerships and concessions,
• clarify prohibited practices and sanctions, 
• strengthen bidder eligibility and beneficial ownership requirements,
• improve contract monitoring, and 
• establish effective alternative dispute resolution and appeals mechanisms.

Issue(s):

Institutional responsibilities are fragmented, procurement is not fully recognised as a professional career, specialised procurement units are generally absent, and outsourcing of procurement functions hinders professionalisation. The ARMEPS platform is only partially digitalised, procurement data are incomplete, training focuses mainly on compliance, and procurement reporting and reform monitoring lack analytical depth.

Recommendations:

• Strengthen the role of the Ministry of Finance, 
• establish specialised procurement units, 
• recognise procurement as a professional civil service function, 
• improve competency based training, 
• expand the functionality of the electronic procurement system, 
• publish machine readable procurement data, 
• strengthen monitoring and performance indicators, and 
• develop a comprehensive procurement reform framework.

Issue(s):

Procurement planning and market analysis are not sufficiently strategic, standard bidding documents are incomplete, procurement methods rely heavily on lowest price, barriers remain for small and medium sized enterprises, contract management practices are weak, and engagement with suppliers and civil society is limited.

Recommendations:

• Require strategic procurement planning and market analysis, 
• develop standard procurement documents, 
• promote quality based evaluation and performance based contracting,
• remove unnecessary barriers to competition, 
• improve support for small and medium sized enterprises, 
• strengthen contract management, and 
• enhance dialogue with suppliers, civil society and the public.

Issue(s):

Internal audit arrangements are weak and insufficiently independent, procurement specific audit methodologies are limited, the court based complaints system has reduced accessibility and efficiency, corruption enforcement remains inconsistent, conflict of interest arrangements are fragmented, procurement integrity training is limited, and public oversight could be strengthened.

Recommendations:

• Strengthen procurement specific internal and external audit, 
• improve coordination between oversight institutions, 
• reinforce the complaints and remedies system, 
• establish stronger conflict of interest and anti corruption measures,
• improve transparency and procurement data, 
• provide integrity training for procurement officials and investigators,
• strengthen debarment arrangements, and 
• promote greater participation by civil society, suppliers and the public in procurement oversight.