B. Amgalan: The procurement of public tenders is much improved

Local news, 15.12.2014

“It was different before we had the open public-procurement system,” said Mrs B. Amgalan, Director of Undrakh Buteemj Co. Ltd, a company that has completed a full renovation of School No. 1 in Uvs aimag. “There were many issues that were critical in regard to past procurement practices. Now we are better informed by the Public Procurement Office on the tender opportunities in our aimag.”

Children at the newly renovated School No. 1 in Ulaangom soum, Uvs aimag, are happy to return to a refurbished school

Undrakh Buteemj Co. Ltd was founded in the mid-1990s after the aimag’s only state-owned construction entity collapsed. At present, the company employs more than 40 workers, including experienced and skilled workers from the previous state-owned entity. 

Mrs Amgalan was also happy about the recently established website of the aimag’s Procurement Office (www.uvstender.mn), which publishes information required by bidders in public tenders. “I believe we submitted the most realistic budget for the renovation of the school based on current market prices. Our budget was MNT 50 million less than the initial amount of the tender. This means we saved more than MNT 50 million from the aimag’s budget. Yet we delivered quality work,” she said. 

According to the 2013 annual report, Uvs aimag’s contracting costs decreased by MNT 0.7 billion from a budget of MNT 11 billion. During the same period, the quality of procurement results and on-time project completion improved. 

The current procurement practices now include community monitors from local civil society organisations (CSOs). 

“I’m sure that the tendering committee that included monitors and observers from local civil society organisations have seen our company’s capacity and the traceable history of our previous work, and evaluated us as capable to take on the renovation.” 

“It is very good that CSOs are involved in the tender selection processes. They help make fair and realistic evaluations of the bidders. I see that it’s necessary to increase the number of CSOs in these processes. More importantly, I believe it’s necessary to involve the local media, which will inform the public about the procurement processes.” 

Undrakh Buteemj Co. Ltd’s work at School No. 1 included restoration of the roof and floors, replacing doors and windows, and completing all interiors of the school building. “We are quite satisfied with the quality of the work done in our school renovation,” said School No. 1 principal Mrs N. Buren. 

Uvs aimag is making a difference in public tendering by initiating open, competitive and participatory tendering processes. “Public procurement processes have much improved in recent years,” Mrs Amgalan said.

Local news, 19.06.2014

Mongolia and Switzerland are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations and 10 years of Swiss Development Cooperation in Mongolia. To commemorate the dual anniversaries, the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ulaanbaatar has planned a series of cultural programmes throughout 2014. “Today” has invited SDC Director of Cooperation and Swiss Consul General Markus Waldvogel for an interview.

Markus Waldvogel - SDC in Mongolia Director of Cooperation
Markus Waldvogel - SDC in Mongolia Director of Cooperation © SCO Ulaanbaatar

What events and measures are being organised to mark the double anniversaries?
I think the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Switzerland is an important event to be widely celebrated. It has also been 10 years since the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) officially opened its Cooperation Office in Mongolia.

To celebrate these anniversaries, SDC is holding a number of cultural events. To start with, we organised a reception for high-level delegates from the two countries on 21 May in Ulaanbaatar.

The next event was a photographic exhibition held on 23 May illustrating the similarities in nature, landscapes and the lifestyles of the people of Mongolia and Switzerland. The exhibition remained open for the public in Chinggis Square for three days. The exhibition then travelled to western aimags, where our main activities are concentrated.

I heard that a significant cultural programme is to be presented in cooperation with the Arts Council of Mongolia.
Yes. Among all the planned activities, we give high priority to the “Agula” music event, organised in partnership with the Arts Council of Mongolia. As part of the event, Switzerland’s Heiri Kaenzig Quintet and Mongolian ethno-jazz band Arga bileg held a joint performance on 29-30 May at the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Ulaanbaatar. We were keen to see how Swiss and Mongolian artists performed new compositions featuring a fusion of modern and traditional music. The groups will also perform in Switzerland in September and October.

I heard that a joint album will be produced.
The Swiss and Mongolian groups will record an album at the “White Arch” studio in Ulaanbaatar, which will be produced in Switzerland. It will consist of six musical compositions by the Heiri Kaenzig Quintet and T. Purevsukh from Arga bileg, as well as four newly arranged compositions of their best musical works.

Does the Swiss quintet also perform this style of music? Is it a famous group in Switzerland?
The band also performs ethno-jazz music. In western countries, Mongolian art is generally known for its traditional style. But this time, Arga bileg is performing with these Swiss artists and will have a unique opportunity to show the western world that Mongolians are developing both their traditional and modern arts.

It’s great that this cultural programme has opened a gateway to connect Mongolians with the people of Switzerland through culture and the arts. What other activities are planned?
As you said, one of the objectives of our cultural programmes is to connect the people of our two countries through cultural exchanges. In order to do this, we look for opportunities to support the development of Mongolia’s art and culture sector, supporting artists with more opportunities.

Have you seen traditional Mongolian artistic performances? What is the Swiss-Mongolian joint performance like?
The performance is unique, interesting and innovative, and generates good feelings between people from both countries.

Mongolians are familiar with SDC’s work in Mongolia. I personally knew of a number of projects on combating desertification, supporting sustainable artisanal mining and agricultural projects, all aimed at solving critical problems in Mongolia. I hope this art and culture project will also generate tangible results.
SDC allocates one percent of its total budget to support the cultural sector in its partner countries. This means we are open to financing projects that contribute to the development of art and culture in Mongolia. This year, we are financing the joint Swiss-Mongolian musical event to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In June, we will also announce a call for project proposals in the art and culture sector.

Does that mean that artists who want to undertake artistic works but who face financial difficulties will be able to approach your organisation?
Yes. If people have proposals and projects, they can approach us. We will review the projects via an open selection process and then finance selected projects that have the potential to represent Mongolia to the world.

How do you see the development of SDC’s activities in the future? Are you moving into other priority sectors?
As of now, our programmes are planned until 2020. We are currently working on three main domains. We focus on food security and agriculture, and providing support for the effective and sustainable use of pastureland through herders’ self-governing bodies. We also have a very successful project in the potato sector, implemented in partnership with the Government of Mongolia. As a result of the project, Mongolians are now self-sufficient in domestic potato production.

We also implement projects targeting vocational education and training, focusing on the training of unskilled workers to match labour market demands. The third area is supporting good governance and decentralisation reform in Mongolia.

Mongolia’s economy has grown rapidly in recent years. This means that there might not be a need for international development and cooperation in the future. At that time, Switzerland might cooperate with Mongolia in the fields of science, trade, commerce and industry.

Thank you. Happy anniversary to SDC!
L. GANCHIMEG

Source: http://mongolnews.mn/i/52275