Here's A Good Idea

Slovakia's Prime Minister Iveta RadičováSlovakia's new prime minister, Iveta Radičová, has ordered all proposed state contracts to be posted online to increase transparency and reduce corruption.

Radičová, 54, became prime minister last month as head of a four-party coalition. She's the first woman to lead the government.

Under the new tender rules, state contracts won't be effective until they're published online and the public has had a chance to comment. According to a story in the Slovak  Spectator, basic provisions of the contracts such as price, payment dates, the volume of supplied goods, conditions of termination, and sources of public funding will be disclosed.

“The proposal submitted by the government will significantly increase public control over the management of public funds and public property,” said Peter Wilfling, a local lawyer and open-government advocate.

The government is still working out some details, like how many sites will post the documents, how to consistently format the content, and how to avoid flooding the public with too much information. There will also be a mechanism to keep confidential and proprietary information off the sites.

Slovakia -- formed when the Slovaks and Czechs separated peacefully in 1993 -- is landlocked in central Europe. It joined NATO and the EU in 2004 and the euro zone last year. It has about five and a half million citizens. On the latest Corruption Perception Index, it ranked 56, tied with Latvia, Malaysia, Namibia, and Samoa.

Comments

[KER]

How does Slovakia's new tender rules compare to the US Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 which, as I understand, requires the Office of Management and Budget to create a free, public website containing full disclosure of all federal contract award information?