RO: 'Vendor independence not a political issue', open source groups say
Free and open source enthusiasts in Romania say their politicians are not yet interested in fighting for vendor independence.
Moreover, several well-connected Romanian open source specialists, who declined to be named, say that advocacy groups for open standards and free and open source software are also not yet organised enough to be able to educate politicians and public administrations.
They say many of Romania's free and open source users in February expressed frustration about a 90 million Euro proprietary software licence deal for desktop computers and servers at the Ministry for Public Administration, the Interior Ministry, the Ministry for Public Finance, the Defence Ministry, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture.
The protesters criticised the government for not having done enough to make sure that their IT systems are vendor independent. They also argue that the ministries have failed to seriously consider alternatives, including using open source software. Their objections are limited to posts on blogs and comments on mailing lists and web sites. "This of course fails to attract any political attention."
According to the well-informed sources, groups such as the Romanian Linux User Group and the Prolinux Association are not yet strong enough to attract attention from politicians. However they hope these groups will start to make a difference, offering training and with other awareness raising activities that are scheduled for this year.
Mistrust
Free and open source enthusiasts arguing for IT vendor independence are hesitating to express their opinions in public, says one of them, because they fear repercussions, including the risk of losing their job. A second source disputes this, but adds that many of his colleagues are too cynical about national politicians, and thus focus on international activities and networks. A third says that feelings of mistrust towards politicians are a part of Romania's legacy. This hampers civil society initiatives on open standards and free and open source software. "Using open standards and formats is the way to go but sadly in Romania this will only happen when Europe imposes it."
There is little faith in public procurement procedures and two specialists point to corruption as a major reason for the entrenchment of proprietary software in most of Romania's public institutions. "All major contracts involve kickbacks", says one of the open source enthusiasts. "In many public procurements, the winner will be known before the bid has begun."
However, another notes that the credit crisis is forcing in particular local administrations to turn to open platforms, for lack of resources.
More information:
Capital news item (in Romanian)
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