The Center for Civic Communications (CCC) published the Report from the Regular Monitoring of Public Acquisition, conducted from January until December 2022, which also includes the results of the poll among the firms on their experiences when applying for public acquisitions, and analysis of the complaints to the State Commission for Complaints on Public Acquisitions (SCCPA).

Here are the key findings:

  • Every third contract for the public acquisition was signed in a procedure involving only one offer. A total of 9,305 contracts of this type were signed, with a total worth MKD26 billion (€427 million).
  • The average number of offers in 2022 is three (3), which points to a decrease in competition compared to 2021.
  • 90% of the monitored tenders are conducted after the deadline established in the plans for public acquisition.
  • 31% of the procedures were annulled.
  • Contracts worth €31 million were signed in an untransparent procedure, with no public announcement, which is a decrease of 30% compared to the previous year.
  • The number of complaints to SCPPA decreased in 2022 – there were 751 complaints, which is 34% less than in 2021.
  • The most frequent problem for the firms (63%) was the lowest price as a criterium.
  • 93% of the firms claim that electronic tenders lead to unrealistic prices and neglect quality.
  • 46% of the firms are certain that there is corruption in public acquisitions, while 18% report personal experiences with corruption on tenders.

The report was prepared within the project “Monitoring of Public Acquisition”, implemented by the Center for Civic Communications, and financially supported by the Open Society Foundation – Macedonia.