The Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation Ivan Vassilev presented the new platform “Sigma“, which enables citizens to track how public funds are spent through public procurement. According to him in “From the Day“ on BNT, the main goal of the system is to ensure transparency and more effective citizen control over the spending of state and municipal funds.
“We presented the “Sigma“ platform today, so that it is easy and convenient for all Bulgarian citizens to see how our common money as taxpayers is spent over the years, where it goes, how each institution spends it, what it buys from companies. Which company receives how much money from state institutions and municipalities. Because I believe that transparency is the best medicine against corruption.“, Vassilev also said. He also pointed out one of the most worrying conclusions from the analysis of data on the platform.
„An interesting fact that all viewers can see is that when they open „Sigma“, they will see a number - over 30% of the public procurements won were with the participation of only one company. This means that 16 billion euros over the years have gone to procedures with very little competition. The procurements were made in this way to limit participation, which reduces competition, probably inflates values and certainly negatively affects the quality and efficiency of spending public funds.“
According to Minister Vassilev, the platform will be upgraded with tools for automatic control over public procurement.
„In the first version, we provide transparency. We say: the money went here. In the next version, we will upgrade with control in the awarding process, so that companies are not favored and orders are not written for a specific contractor. In a subsequent stage, we will also evaluate the companies' offers, so that the prices of goods and services sold to the state are not artificially inflated.“, he also said. And he announced upcoming changes in the management of “Information Services“.
“I will convene a new General Meeting in a short time, at which changes will be made in the management of “Information Services“. There is a need for freshness, there is a need to build a team and capacity, so that the accelerated development of digital services that meet the needs of citizens can continue. We currently have a good foundation, which, however, needs to be built upon.“
The Minister gave an example of how he used the new platform “SIGMA“.
“I did an experiment because I love animals, for one municipality - the municipality of Belitsa. You can see the company that earned the most money from the municipality of Belitsa. See if this company received money from other municipalities that have the same political leadership and management. As the Ministry of Innovation and Digital Transformation, our role is not to point fingers, but to give all people the tools to draw their own conclusions, and we, through technology, to spend public funds more effectively.“
The Minister also announced that the new Ministry of Innovation and Digital Transformation plans to reduce staff numbers.
“We have proposed a new structure in which we are reducing 120 staff numbers“, said Ivan Vassilev.
He emphasized that the goal of digital transformation is for the administration to become faster and more efficient through the use of technology.
“Technology allows us to achieve more with less. It can help some processes happen faster, automatically and imperceptibly for people. "There is no need for the state to ask you for a document that it has issued itself. We are making all systems integrated to make it fast, easy and convenient for people," the minister said.