Ministry of Economy developing defense framework, other improvements to govt procurement procedures
The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine is developing mechanisms designed to promote the development of domestic production and improve the public procurement procedure, Deputy Minister Nadia Bihun said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine entitled "Light industry is for transparent procurement: Ukrainian defender - Ukrainian uniform!".
"Ukrainian taxpayers directly influence budget revenues, and therefore the country's ability to finance defense. And the Ministry of Economy is convinced that government procurement funds should remain in Ukraine. We must do everything possible to ensure that every kopiika that comes from the budget is spent inside the country, rather than paying for imports," she said.
According to Bihun, the Ministry of Economy understands the problematic issues faced today by Ukrainian light industry companies seeking to produce and supply products for security and defense forces: the impossibility of long-term planning, lack of working capital, etc.
She said that, in turn, it is extremely important for the state to guarantee that the necessary products will be delivered on time and of proper quality, so the ministry is developing appropriate mechanisms and tools.
According to the Deputy Minister, in particular, the process of developing a defense framework is ongoing – a new tool that will complement the direct procurement or simplified procurement in the Prozorro system that are relevant today. It is planned that it will allow manufacturers intending to participate in defense government procurement to be qualified in advance, and the introduction of a defense framework will simplify and speed up the procedure.
Bihun added that another mechanism being developed will allow long-term supply contracts to be concluded between the manufacturer and the state.
"If we are talking about a lack of working capital, then, for example, we recently added factoring to the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% program. The state will compensate the costs of paying the basic remuneration up to 13% per annum to the factor," the Deputy Minister of Economy said, noting another new opportunity for producers.
