Enterprises suggest eliminating overlapping state inspections

A discussion on the bill on public-private partnerships took place on October 24.

The bill was developed with nine chapters and 60 articles to create a favorable legal environment for long-term and effective cooperation by supporting the private sector’s participation and investment in publicprivate partnership projects in the field of public infrastructure and public services.

Parliament approved the State Policy on Public-Private Partnerships in 2009 and the Law on Concessions in 2010. However, the concession law does not fully address the basic principles and concepts of public-private partnerships, such as partnership planning, selection and risk assessment, the bill initiators explained.

The participants expressed that excessive privileges and power granted to government agencies make it impossible for the private sector to implement projects with their own investment, and highlighted the need to reduce the number of overlapping state inspections.

Enterprises noted that they initiate many infrastructure projects but the implementation of projects requires support from government organizations other than financial assistance and grants.

The bill initiators mentioned that if the bill on public-private partnerships is passed, it will create many advantages that lessen the burden on the state budget when implementing large projects.

In accordance with the bill, a ministry or agency responsible for public-private partnerships and a Public-Private Partnership Center will be established. It stipulates that the center will cooperate closely with the Ministry of Finance.

During the discussion, Parliamentarian S.Ganbaatar commented, “The private sector is the main pillar that creates jobs, improves the economy and advances the country forward. People doing honest business cannot participate in mega projects of the government.”

Director of Policy and Advocacy at the American Chamber of Commerce in Mongolia G.Javkhlantugs underscored that the government is responsible for defining policies aimed to protect the private sector from unfair competition. “The economy will recover by supporting the private sector. This bill should be thoroughly checked whether there are provisions on reliability, innovation and information security. This is because government organizations often use business ideas themselves in the name of project selection. The government does not need to have a partnership with the private sector but it has to support the private sector to run their activities smoothly. State-owned companies are involved in major projects. There is no need to create difficulties by conducting a selection process for projects of the private sector, giving evaluations by the government and approval by Parliament. The proposal of the private sector should be clearly reflected in the bill,” he said.

G.Javkhlantugs also stated, “Transparency is paramount to the implementation of this law. The decisionmaking process needs to be concise and clear. The bill initiators should make it clear whether or not the private sector can vote on the projects selected by the government. In general, state interventions should be minimized as much as possible and issues of conflict of interest and transparency should be regulated by law. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the e-nation is meant to reduce government bureaucracy, but it is increasing it instead.”