<p>SKOPJE, November 17, 2014 – Today, the Centеr for Civil Communications published monitoring report which includes the results from survey of companies inquiring about their experiences in public procurements and comparative analysis of legal protection in public procurements and related administrative costs - Мacedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Hungary and Czech Republic.</p>
<p>Companies’ survey was conducted in the period June-July 2014 and targeted a total of 267 economic operators based and operating in all bigger towns and regions countrywide. Key conclusions of the survey are:</p>
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<li>Main problems companies face in public procurement procedures include: ample scope of documents required for participation in tender procedures, late collection of receivables for implemented procurement contracts and definition of eligibility criteria for participation in tender procedures that favour particular bidders.</li>
<li>Companies that have been awarded procurement contracts, in average, wait for six months to collect their receivables related to the contract performance.</li>
<li>Dominant share of surveyed companies believe that e-auctions result in attainment of unrealistically low prices, whereby quality is disregarded on the account of procurement prices.</li>
<li>High costs related to and distrust in appeal procedures are main reasons on whose account 93% of surveyed companies rarely or never motion appeals against public procurement procedures.</li>
<li>On the scale from 1 (negative) to 5 (excellent), companies assess the overall process on public procurements in the country with 2.86, which implies an insignificant improvement compared to 2012 assessment of 2.84. </li>
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<p>This report is available <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/x7f9xkjwye5n5s5/23_izvestaj_EN_12.11.2014.pdf?dl=0">here</a>. For more information, please contact the Center for Civil Communications on tel. (02) 3213-513 or by e-mail: <a href="mailto:center@ccc.org.mk">center@ccc.org.mk</a>.</p>
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<p><strong>NOTE TO THE EDITORS:</strong></p>
<p>USAID Civil Society Project is implemented by the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia (FOSM) in partnership with the Centre for Civil Communications, the Youth Educational Forum, Reactor – Research in Action, and Forum – Centre for Strategic Research and Documentation.</p>
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<p>The American people, through USAID, have invested over $500 million in Macedonia since 1993. USAID works with the people of Macedonia to create jobs, strengthen democratic institutions and practices, enhance integrated education, and prepare students for the workforce. These initiatives improve the quality of life and support Macedonia’s transition to a stable and prosperous democracy. USAID provides economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 100 countries. For more information please visit <a href="http://www.usaid.gov/where-we-work/europe-and-eurasia/macedonia" target="_blank">USAID Macedonia Website</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/USAIDMacedonia" target="_blank">USAID Macedonia Facebook</a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span>page.</p>