Today, 13 July, the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SOPK) revealed that it was having talks with the new cabinet over public procurement procedures in an attempt to prevent or eliminate corruption in the process.
SOPK chairman, Peter Mihok, said that they wanted to push for changes that would deal with the deadlines in tenders and the practice of making certain tenders ‘tailor’made’ to particular companies. Many businesses feel that this is far too common a practice in public procurement.
The opening talks between SOPK and the ruling parties also dealt with deregulation of the Labour Code to promote more flexible employment conditions.
Mihok also mentioned that the Chamber would request the new justice minister to address the issue of weak law enforcement, which has often been referred to as a weakness in Slovakia, and one which goes hand in hand with corruption.