Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation: More than 30% of public procurement contracts were awarded with the participation of only one bidder

Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation Ivan Vassilev has presented the new SIGMA platform, which enables citizens to monitor how public funds are spent through public procurement contracts. Speaking on More from the Day, he said the system’s main objective is to ensure transparency and more effective public oversight of state and municipal spending.

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Ivan Vassilev, Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation: “We launched the SIGMA platform today to make it easy and convenient for all Bulgarian citizens to see how our shared money as taxpayers has been spent over the years, where it has gone, how each institution spends it, and what it purchases from companies. Citizens can also see how much money individual companies receive from state institutions and municipalities. I believe that transparency is the best remedy against corruption.”

The minister also highlighted one of the most concerning conclusions emerging from the platform’s data analysis.

Ivan Vassilev, Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation: “One interesting fact that all viewers will be able to see when they open SIGMA is a figure showing that more than 30% of successful public procurement contracts were awarded with the participation of only a single bidder. This means that, over the years, €16 billion has gone through procedures with very limited competition. The tenders were designed in a way that restricted participation, reducing competition, likely inflating costs and certainly having a negative impact on the quality and efficiency of public spending.”

According to Vassilev, the platform will be further developed with tools for automated oversight of public procurement procedures.

Ivan Vassilev, Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation: “In the first version, we provide transparency. We show where the money has gone. In the next version, we will introduce controls during the procurement process itself, so that companies are not favoured and tender specifications are not written for a particular contractor. At a later stage, we will also assess companies’ bids to prevent the artificial inflation of prices for goods and services sold to the state.”

Minister Vassilev also announced forthcoming changes to the leadership of Information Services.

Ivan Vassilev, Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation: “I will convene a new General Meeting in the near future, at which changes to the leadership of Information Services will be considered. There is a need for fresh impetus, as well as for building a strong team and greater capacity, so that the accelerated development of digital services that meet citizens’ needs can continue. We currently have a solid foundation, but it must be further strengthened.”

The minister also provided an example of how he had used the new SIGMA platform.

Ivan Vassilev, Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation: “I conducted an experiment involving a municipality—Belitsa Municipality—because I am fond of animals. You can see which company has won the largest amount of funding from Belitsa Municipality. Then check whether that company has also received money from other municipalities with the same political leadership and administration. As the Ministry of Innovation and Digital Transformation, our role is not to point fingers, but to provide people with the tools to draw their own conclusions, while using technology to ensure more effective spending of public funds.”

The minister also announced that staffing reductions are planned within the newly established Ministry of Innovation and Digital Transformation.

“We have proposed a new structure under which 120 established posts will be eliminated,” Ivan Vassilev said.

He stressed that the aim of digital transformation is to make public administration faster and more efficient through the use of technology.

“Technology enables us to achieve more with fewer resources. It can help certain processes take place more quickly, automatically and seamlessly for citizens. The state should not need to ask you for a document that it has already issued to you. We are integrating all systems so that services become faster, simpler and more convenient for people,” the minister stated.