Dutch Ambassador: Wise spending of public money, more than auctions for low prices

Dutch ambassador, Stella Ronner-Grubacic, said on Monday that wise management of public money is not just about organizing auctions on lowest price criterion.
“Spending public money wisely is more than correct organization of a tender on the lowest price criterion,” said the Dutch envoy during an international workshop on public procurement, organized on Monday by the Public Policy Institute.
Stella Ronner-Grubacic said that other criteria should be considered, such as the product’s lifecycle purchased with public money or how much is environmentally friendly, by these benefiting both the economy and the citizens.
Also, the Ambassador of the Netherlands showed that the private sector should become a partner of the public sector in this matter.
“The new European law has as basic principles transparency, equal treatment, open competition and clear management procedures. (…) Romania is reforming its procurement system and aims at integrating new principles. It is not an easy task to change, not only the law but also the way of thinking,” said Ronner-Grubacic.
She also said that anti-corruption institutions in Romania are ‘very alert’ in their investigations against misconduct and that is certainly the development in the right direction, but lot of work remains to be done in this field.
“I understand that citizens of this country are becoming increasingly involved in the affairs of the community. (…) In terms of groups of concerned citizens, I hope they will become vocal and will be heard on the issues of quality and efficiency of public spending,” said Ronner-Grubacic.
Stella Ronner-Grubacic was appointed Ambassador of the Netherlands in Romania and R. of Moldova in July. Prior to taking office, Stella Ronner- Grubacic was director of communications with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague.