The Integrity Chamber’s statement in today’s paper is loud and clear. Its investigation into government’s bidding process was justified.
The immediate reason had been a notification of suspected misconduct. The probe showed that non-compliance with existing procedures and the accountability ordinance (“compabiliteits verordening”) occurs under all circumstances.
Moreover, important documents required for proper decision-making were missing or not correctly registered. Possible deviations had been insufficiently substantiated.
Recommendations include implementing a national decree to determine by law exactly how bidding procedures are to be executed. This is something particularly Party for Progress (PFP) Member of Parliament (MP) Raeyhon Peterson has been hammering on for quite some time.
After similar conclusions from the Ombudsman, Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Egbert Doran would do well to take this matter seriously. Granted, he has been working on it and presented a related policy to the legislature.
However, both reports seem to indicate that this is not enough, as unambiguous rules, improved processes and effective control mechanisms are needed to ensure equal and fair treatment. Mind you, this is not directly about individual cases that may have gone wrong in the past, but making things better for the future.
