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Inter-parliamentary conference on the Berlin Process held in Petrovac

In collaboration with our partners, the Institute for Democracy ‘Societas Civilis’ from Skopje, we organised an inter-parliamentary conference titled “The Advantages of the Berlin Process: Special Focus on the Common Regional Market.”

The conference gathered MPs from all regional parliaments, who exchanged opinions and experiences on the current state and future challenges of the Berlin Process with civil society representatives.

During the first panel, titled “The Berlin Process and Its Current State in the Western Balkans,” MPs discussed the current state and future steps for improvement.

The topic of the second panel discussion was “The Common Regional Market – What Worked Before and Challenges for Action Plan 2.0? The Position of Western Balkan Parliaments.” Panelists emphasised the importance of debating economic issues relevant to citizens and the business community in the region.

The event is part of the project “Parliamentary Diplomacy: Regional Cooperation through Enhanced Parliamentary Dialogue,” supported by the Federal Government of Germany, which aims to showcase the advantages of the Berlin Process by strengthening parliamentary diplomacy and utilising oversight mechanisms by Western Balkan parliaments.

In addition to Institute Alternative, our project partners in the region include the Institute for Democracy ‘Societas Civilis’ (IDSCS) from Skopje, the Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA) from Belgrade, the Kosova Democratic Institute (KDI) from Pristina, the Network of Progressive Initiatives (NPI) from Sarajevo, and the Institute for Political Studies (ISP) from Tirana.

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State Administration Struggles with Procuring Paper, Toner, and Vehicles

The shortage of paper and toner for printers was just part of the problem that plagued numerous state agencies last year due to the cancellation of centralised public procurements. Appeals processes delayed some centralised procurements by up to eight months.

Centralised public procurements are conducted by the State Property Administration for the entire public administration, through which institutions procure office furniture, fuel, vehicles, and insurance.

In 2023, a total of nine centralised public procurement procedures were annulled, leaving some agencies without paper and toner for months and delaying the procurement of new and used official vehicles, invoices, and forms. Most of these tenders were then reissued and successfully completed, with contracts signed with suppliers, while some procedures are still ongoing in the Administrative Court. Six of the nine tenders were related to the procurement of office furniture and materials, while three were for the procurement of new and used vehicles.

Tenders were annulled for various reasons, including complaints about improperly prepared statements, incorrect and missing offers, exclusion of tender participants, and withdrawals. Notably, the State Property Administration, in four tenders related to the procurement of office materials through framework agreements, required bidders to prove compliance with conditions, which led to the annulment of these tenders.

Offices Without Supplies, Suppliers “Warring” with Complaints

According to data from the Montenegrin Electronic Public Procurement System (CeJN), four out of nine tenders were canceled due to submitted complaints, all of which were filed by the company “Kastex.” These four tenders were announced in early April 2023 for the procurement of paper, printer toners, forms, covers, and orders for state departments. The tender values ranged from 32.870 to 310.220 euros. In each of these procurements, the company “Stratus” was initially selected as the most favourable bidder, after which “Kastex” submitted complaints. The State Property Administration deemed these complaints unfounded, but the competent Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures upheld them, leading to the cancellation of the tenders. Consequently, state bodies waited eight months for paper, five months for toners, and four months for orders and covers.

In each complaint, “Kastex” also claimed that they were required to prove their eligibility for bidding again, despite having a framework agreement with the Administration. Framework agreements for these procurements are signed by one or more purchasers with one or more bidders, establishing the conditions for concluding procurement contracts for a specific period, price, and quantity, with a maximum duration of four years.

“If the framework agreement is concluded with multiple bidders, contracts based on that agreement are concluded: 1) according to the terms of the framework agreement, without re-bidding, if all the necessary conditions for executing works, providing services, or delivering goods, as well as the eligibility conditions specified in the tender documentation, have been established by the agreement,” states Article 69, paragraph 1, of the Public Procurement Law.

The largest among the April procurements was for paper and paper products, valued at 310.220 euros. After one amendment to the tender documentation, “Stratus” was selected as the most favourable bidder, but “Kastex” filed a complaint. The Commission upheld the complaint because the signatories of the framework agreement were required to prove their eligibility for bidding again, leading to the cancellation of the process on July 25. A new tender was announced in the meantime on June 19, with “Kastex” now complaining that “Stratus” offered a price more than 30 percent lower than theirs. This objection was partially upheld, as the reasonableness of the unrealistically low offer was not verified, resulting in a repetition of the process on September 29. “Stratus” was again selected as the most favourable bidder, but this time, “Kastex’s” complaint was rejected as unfounded in late November. The contract worth 310.220 euros was signed with “Stratus” on December 18, and “Kastex” initiated proceedings before the Administrative Court to challenge the legality of the rejected complaint. In this case, state bodies waited more than eight months for the paper procurement.

In addition to this, another tender announced on April 4 was worth 210.120 euros for the procurement of toners and cartridges for printers. After two amendments to the tender documentation, “Stratus” was selected as the most favourable bidder on April 28, while “Kastex’s” offer was rejected as incorrect. “Kastex” filed a complaint on May 9, claiming that the process was conducted unlawfully and that their offer was unjustifiably and illegally rejected. They also pointed out that, among other things, the opening of bids was not conducted properly, nor were the records, that a non-existent bid was selected, that the decision was illegal, and that the rules of procedure were violated, and that they should not have had to prove their eligibility due to the framework agreement.

The Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures upheld the complaint after a month and stated that the process was unlawful because the signatories of the framework agreement were required to prove their eligibility for bidding again, leading to the cancellation of the tender on July 25. After the complaint was upheld, a new process of the same value was initiated on June 19, going through multiple amendments and clarifications, and by late August, “Kastex’s” offer was selected as the most favourable. The contract with this company worth 210.120 euros was signed on September 19, and three annexes were later signed. For this tender, public administration waited at least five months last year for the procurement of basic printer supplies.

A nearly identical case was recorded with the third tender announced in April, which also concerned printer toners and was valued at 194.660 euros. After two amendments to the documentation, “Stratus” was selected as the most favourable bidder on April 28, to which “Kastex” filed a complaint, leading to the cancellation of the tender on July 25. A new one was announced on June 19, underwent several amendments and additions, after which “Stratus” was again selected as the most favourable bidder in late August. “Kastex” filed a complaint claiming that “Stratus” did not deliver the toners prescribed by the tender, which the State Property Administration disputed, stating that they could be used in printers. The Commission partially upheld the complaint because the Administration did not fully establish the factual situation of the offer, resulting in a repetition of the process. In mid-October, “Stratus” was again selected as the most favourable bidder, but “Kastex” filed another complaint after ten days, related to the consistency of the toner names mentioned in the offer. The Commission partially upheld the complaint, noting that the Administration again failed to fully establish the factual situation, resulting in another repetition of the process. Then, in late November, “Kastex” was selected as the most favourable bidder, but now “Stratus” filed a complaint also related to technical specifications. This complaint was partially upheld, and the process was repeated. The selection of the bidder in this case also ended up in the Administrative Court, as “Stratus” initiated proceedings before that institution in March 2024, causing this procurement to last a year.

The last of the April tenders was worth 32.870 euros, for the procurement of orders, receipts, invoices, covers, etc. After one amendment to the documentation, “Stratus” was selected as the most favourable bidder, while “Kastex” filed a complaint in early May. Again, the issue was that the signatories of the framework agreement were required to prove their eligibility for bidding, which the Commission upheld, leading to the official cancellation of the tender on July 25. A new tender of the same amount began on June 19, with “Kastex” giving the most favourable offer in late August. The contract worth 32.870 euros was signed with that company on September 19, along with two subsequent annexes.

Buyers Need Training

For the purposes of this research, the State Property Administration stated that filing complaints, extending decision deadlines, and canceling centralised public procurement lead to difficulties in the functioning and regular operations of state bodies, which need these goods and services. They explained that these problems are overcome through active communication, i.e., meetings with public buyers, unifying technical specifications, and better market research. They emphasised that in order to avoid these problems in the future, buyers need to take a more active role in training for centralised public procurement organised by the Directorate for Public Procurement Policy.

“Weak communication with state bodies when submitting technical specifications within the deadline, submitting technical specifications containing errors in characteristics, represent the main reason why bidders file complaints. Planning the needs for items of centralised public procurement estimated at significantly less than the actual needs results in the re-initiation of the procurement process for certain state bodies. Non-alignment of technical specifications between state bodies for the same procurement item…,” they stated as shortcomings of the current centralised public procurement system.

When asked about the problems caused by the cancellation of office supplies procurements, the Administration stated that most state bodies experienced difficulties in operation due to a lack of paper and paper products, as well as a shortage of printer toners. They pointed out that contracts were eventually signed, while decisions for two tenders are still before the Administrative Court.

Administration for Inspection Affairs Waited Six Months for Vehicles

In mid-May 2023, a tender was announced for the needs of the Administration for Inspection Affairs (UIP) worth 86.190 euros for the lease of 40 used vehicles. In early July, the company “Auto Čačak” was selected as the most favourable bidder, but later submitted a letter withdrawing from the tender due to a technical error in their offer. This process was canceled on July 6 and re-announced five days later, but its value was reduced to 61.570 euros. “Auto Čačak” submitted an offer at the end of that month but was excluded from the process because the required statement was not signed, leading to the cancellation of the process on July 27. The value was reduced again, and the new procurement was now worth 24.620 euros, starting in mid-September. “Auto Čačak” again submitted the most favourable offer in late October, and the contract worth 24.620 euros for the lease of 40 vehicles was signed at the end of that month.

In a comment for this research, the Administration stated that the estimated value of the procurement decreased with each new initiation of the process because the lease period was until the end of 2023. They emphasised that they consider the current procurement system inefficient due to the inability to conclude contracts for a longer period, which prevents state bodies from carrying out their activities efficiently and according to plan.

“The fact that the original Regulation on the Centralisation of Public Procurement of Goods and Services at the end of 2017 entailed the execution of 12 procurement procedures for goods and services, after which the Regulation on Amendments and Supplements to the Regulation on the Manner of Planning and Execution of Centralised Public Procurement was adopted at the end of 2022, which now entails the execution of seven procurement procedures for goods and services, namely the procurement of computer devices and equipment, communication equipment, mobile phone services, landline phone services, as well as electronic communication services – the internet, which have been returned to the organisational units,” stated the UIP.

In addition to the vehicles for this Administration, the tender announced at the beginning of November, aimed at procuring one car each for the Ministries of Culture and Media and Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, the Institute for Hydrometeorology and Seismology, and the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, was also annulled. This was a repeated procedure valued at 75.470 euros, and the tender was canceled due to a lack of bids, while one bid was rejected because it was improperly prepared.

Shortages in Chairs and Vehicles

The list of canceled tenders also includes one for the procurement of 60 office chairs for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced in mid-December 2023. This tender, valued at 10.740 euros, was annulled after a few days because no valid bids were received. One bidder failed to submit a statement on the required form, while the other did not provide proof that their offer met the necessary standards.

In mid-December, a tender was announced for the procurement of one vehicle for the needs of the Ministry of the Interior, valued at 20.650 euros. This procurement underwent one change in documentation but was canceled on December 25th due to the absence of bids. As of mid-May 2024, these two tenders have not been reissued.

Among the more valuable tenders in 2023 is the one from mid-June, announced for the procurement of tables, cabinets, and chairs, valued at 164.230 euros. It underwent a documentation change but was annulled on July 18th because the statements from bidders ‘Grand design’ and ‘Was design’ were improperly prepared, i.e., not submitted on the required form. A new tender began on July 31st, and in mid-September, the offer from ‘Was design’ was selected as the most favourable, with a contract worth 158.870 euros signed at the end of October.

Last year, two tenders were successfully completed on the first announcement. The first, valued at 24.990 euros, was for the procurement of tables and chairs for the Statistical Office (Monstat) and was announced on October 9th. The company ‘Was design’ was selected in mid-October due to the most favourable offer, and a contract worth 23.200 euros was signed on October 30th. The tender was completed within about twenty days. In addition to this, the procurement of office furniture, specifically three counters for the Ministry of Justice, valued at 24.990 euros, was also successfully completed. This tender was announced on November 29th, with subsequent amendments to the request. ‘Was design’ was selected as the most favourable bidder, with the condition that the company submits an original or copy of the participation proof. The company complied, and a contract worth 16.840 euros was signed on December 29th. Two bids were rejected in this tender, one because the bidder offered a price 30% lower than the others and failed to clarify within the legal deadline, and the other because the bidder comprised two companies that did not submit a statement on compliance with the conditions and absence of conflict of interest.”

This investigative article was produced within the Project “Procurement under spotlight – Making Watchdogs Work!”, with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Serbia and Montenegro within the MATRA Rule of Law program. Project aims to empower and motivate watchdogs to combat corruption and undue influence in public procurement.

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IA meeting with the President of Montenegro

The professionalisation of the management structure and good corporate governance in public enterprises form the foundation for creating an efficient and economically prosperous society. This was one of the key messages from the meeting with the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović.

The meeting was held on June 19, and Institute Alternative was represented by Stevo Muk, Marko Sošić, and Dragana Jaćimović.

During the meeting, it was conveyed that decision-makers must ensure that state-owned enterprises exemplify responsibility, transparency, and ethics, which has not been the case in the past.

The meeting was prompted by the Call for Action, which IA addressed to all decision-makers in March this year. The participants of the meeting agreed that employment in the public sector is rife with inappropriate influences, and that knowledge, professional references, and work results must be the criteria by which the best will assume responsibility and be the bearers of the social and economic progress of our country.

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Fourth year in a row: Ministry of the Interior works without an HR Plan

We still do not have precise data on the number of employees in the Ministry of the Interior and the Police Administration, nor do we have information on planned recruitments or projections regarding the number of those who will retire.

Last Friday, the Government approved the Partial Human Resource Plan for State Administration Bodies and Services of the Government of Montenegro for 2024, but it does not include the human resource plan for the Ministry of the Interior.

The Ministry of the Interior last prepared a Human Resource Plan in 2019. The HR Plan serves as the basis for conducting competitions and announcements for filling job positions.

This is the fourth year that the Ministry of the Interior has failed to fulfil the legal obligation to prepare this document, which is drafted simultaneously with the Budget Law and adopted 30 days after the budget is approved.

As early as December of last year, we reminded the Ministry of the Interior of this obligation, and in January, we pointed out that without an HR Plan, there is no precise data on personnel.

The Partial Human Resource Plan adopted by the Government for this year is available at this link.

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IA organised two gender-budgeting trainings

Institute Alternative (IA) organised two two-day trainings under the name “Programme budgeting through gender glasses”, as a continuation of efforts to introduce the concept of gender-responsive budgeting to civil servants.

The trainings, which took place from May 27 to 30 at the Palas Hotel in Petrovac, aimed to familiarise about 30 officials with the basic concepts of gender budgeting and train them to recognise the gender component in budget programmes and their elements.

Using practical examples, participants were introduced to this concept of public finance management, and why gender-responsive budgeting is a public policy topic in general.

During the training, participants had the opportunity to define gender-responsive goals, determine gender components of budget programmes, and design activities that support gender equality. In addition, they learned about the key tools for budget utilisation and devised indicators with the help of which the success of the implemented activities can be measured.

The two-day training was attended by about 30 officials from several state institutions: Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of European Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Culture and Media, Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, as well as the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs, the Ministry of Tourism, Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North, the Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, the Railway Administration, the Administration for Forest and Hunting Management, the Red Cross of Montenegro, of the Health Insurance Fund, the Employment Agency of Montenegro, the Administration for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions, Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT) and the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund.

The training was organised by Institute Alternative within the project “Programme budgeting through gender glasses”, with the support of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights.

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All Clear in 2023? – The First Year of Public Procurement Controllers

Although the ministries comply with the legal obligation to appoint individuals to monitor the implementation of public procurement contracts, last year they did not register any irregularities. The ministries publish reports on completed contracts within the legal deadline, but only with general information.

The implementation phase of a public procurement contract is a key indicator of whether what was requested was delivered or done as specified in the tender documentation. For many years, this phase of public procurement was the least monitored until last year when the obligation to appoint individuals to monitor contract implementation was introduced. Last year, the ministries fulfilled the legal obligation to appoint responsible individuals for monitoring the implementation of public procurement contracts, as well as the obligation to publish reports on their implementation in the Montenegrin Electronic Public Procurement System (ESJN). During this time, officials did not report any irregularities, and the reports do not provide insight into how the contract was actually implemented, as they contain only basic information about the contracting parties, prices, and deadlines. The Inspection for Public Procurement (part of the Administration for Inspection Affairs, UIP) did not focus on checking the compliance of ministries in this area last year, considering that only two inspections related to public procurement were conducted in ministries.

Monitoring contracts only over 25.000 euros

Amendments to the Law on Public Procurement (ZJN), which have been in effect since January of last year, imposed the obligation on contracting authorities to appoint a responsible person for monitoring the implementation of public procurement contracts. In addition to the obligation to control the execution of contracts, contracting authorities are required to prepare a report on contract implementation within 30 days and publish it in the Electronic Public Procurement System (ESJN), which was also an obligation under previous legal provisions.

These obligations apply to open public procurements and framework agreements, but not to simple procurements that are exempt from the application of this Law. Simple procurements are used for acquisitions valued up to 25 thousand euros for goods and services or up to 40 thousand euros for works. The Rulebook on the Manner of Conducting Simple Procurements does not specify the obligation to appoint responsible persons for monitoring contract implementation or to publish reports on implementation in the ESJN. Last year, simple procurements valued up to 25 thousand euros were predominantly conducted in the ministries.

A new mechanism, but without results so far

The purpose of the legal provision requiring the appointment of a person responsible for monitoring contract implementation is to ensure better control and greater accountability for both suppliers and institutions, i.e., contracting authorities, considering that this official would be obliged to point out any irregularities during contract implementation, which could ultimately lead to contract termination.

However, judging by the responses from 16 out of 19 ministries in the Government of Montenegro, such a situation did not occur in any ministry last year. The intention of this research was to determine whether and to what extent contract implementation is actually monitored and whether suppliers are complying with contractual obligations. All ministries provided the same response—that different individuals are appointed to monitor contract implementation depending on the area, that none of them noticed any irregularities, and that there was no need to invoke guarantees or terminate any contracts.

The Ministry of the Interior (MUP) had the most procedures last year, with 143 in total, as they informed us. Last year, 43 open procedures were completed, while 14 were annulled. This department also completed two negotiated procedures without prior invitation, one of which was annulled, and they also implemented one framework agreement. The Ministry stated that they appointed multiple individuals to monitor and implement the contracts, who did not identify any irregularities, and in accordance with the law, they published reports on implementation in the ESJN within the prescribed deadline for each procedure. Regarding simple procurements, 52 were completed, and 31 procedures were annulled.

Last year, the Ministry of Defense announced 110 procurements, of which 99 were conducted through the ESJN, while the remaining ones were based on framework agreements governed by previous legislation. In 2023, 89 public procurement procedures were completed, while 21 procedures were still ongoing. By the end of last year, 27 contracts worth a total of 1,500,253.74 euros including VAT were fully implemented. The Ministry of Defense, as they noted, assigns one or more individuals to monitor the implementation of each public procurement contract, depending on the complexity and specificity of the procurement subject. These individuals are selected from various organisational units of the Ministry and the Montenegrin Army, taking into account the scope of work of the organisational units and the relevant expertise for monitoring the specifics of each particular contract. They claim that there were no irregularities. The Ministry of Justice completed half of the 24 public procurement procedures announced last year, of which seven contracts worth a total of 514,037.87 euros including VAT were implemented. They stated that in all procedures, the chairpersons of the public procurement committees in individual procedures were appointed to monitor contract implementation, who did not identify any irregularities during implementation.

The Ministry of Public Administration conducted 17 public procurements last year, of which 11 were completed last year, two more from 2023 were completed in January this year, and five contracts worth a total of 4,055,535.74 euros including VAT were implemented. They stated that they appointed different individuals for these contracts depending on the procurement subject, and that no irregularities were registered in any case. The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights announced two open procedures last year, and different individuals were appointed for both contracts, who did not identify any irregularities.

The former Ministry of Capital Investments (MKI), whose responsibilities have been taken over by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Transport, formed a working team tasked with controlling the provision of services in the contract with the Auto-Moto Association of Montenegro (AMSCG) regarding road information services for which a framework agreement was signed from 2023 to 2027 worth 1.2 million euros. The framework agreement signed by the former MKI with AMSCG stipulates that if the contracting authority notices any irregularities, they must immediately inform the contractor, who is obliged to correct the shortcomings, and if they cannot be corrected, the contract may be terminated. So far, there have been no such situations. The Ministry of European Affairs, as they claim, assigns a person to monitor each contract, separately for the technical and financial parts, engaging several different individuals for this purpose. Two individuals were engaged in these activities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the situation is similar in the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism, and State Property, which also had no complaints. The Ministry of Culture informed us that they did not have any open procedures last year and that they implemented a contract for organising official travel worth 37,000 euros for which the tender was conducted the previous year, so they were not obliged to appoint a person to monitor it. However, they noted that the implementation was monitored by the finance and public procurement services through invoice payment records, and there were no irregularities.

The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Tourism, Ecology, Sustainable Development, and Northern Development, the Ministry of Energy and Mining, and the Ministry of Sports and Youth did not have any procedures that required the appointment of an individual to monitor contract implementation.

Reports Are Published, But Without Details

Another mechanism that should contribute to the transparency of public procurement is the obligation to publish reports on the implementation of contracts within 30 days on the ESJN (Electronic Public Procurement System). Failing to publish a report within this 30-day period after the contract’s completion is considered a minor offense, for which institutions can be fined between 2,000 and 10,000 euros.

The data we obtained from the ministries, as well as from the ESJN, indicate that the ministries complied with this obligation last year. However, considering the report template established by the Ministry of Finance on June 16, 2020, this form does not require any details on the actual implementation of the contract. Apart from the information already defined in the tender documentation and contract, which are publicly available on the portal, this report only contains the date of the contract’s full implementation. Moreover, these reports are not published on the main page of the procurement process on the ESJN, where all important documentation is available, from the call to the decision and contract, but rather on a separate tab “Contracts in Process,” which can only be accessed through a targeted search.

A good practice example from the former Ministry of Capital Investments (now the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs) shows that the format doesn’t have to be “set in stone.” Their framework agreement with AMSCG (Automobile Association of Montenegro) included monitoring the contract implementation through regular monthly, quarterly, and annual reports, based on the records of services provided and confirmations of services rendered. These reports are published by the Ministry on the ESJN.

The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights conducted two public procurements last year: one for the purchase of airline tickets worth 65,000 euros, for which the contract is still ongoing, and another for software procurement for the digitisation of the Albanian language worth 387,200 euros (including VAT), for which the report has been published. The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism, and State Property published reports last year for three contracts worth 185,000 euros related to the purchase of computer equipment. The Ministry of Justice reported within the legal deadline for seven procedures with a total value of 514,037.87 euros, as did the Ministry of Public Administration for five implemented contracts worth 4,055,535.74 euros. The Ministry of Defense stated that out of 27 contracts worth a total of 1,500,253.74 euros (including VAT), they published 19 implementation reports on the ESJN.

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Health, Energy and Mining, Tourism and Ecology, European Affairs, Economic Development, Sports and Youth, Culture and Media did not have the obligation to publish reports last year, either because the contracts have not yet been implemented or due to simple procurements for which they are not required.

Inspection Oversight

The Public Procurement Inspectorate conducted only two inspections in ministries last year concerning the aforementioned control mechanisms, according to the data obtained by Institute Alternative under the Law on Free Access To Information. We received reports on inspections conducted in the field of public procurement at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation. In these inspections, the obligation to appoint a person to monitor contract implementation was not reviewed.

The inspection at the Ministry of Finance focused on the application of regulations in the areas of procurement planning, execution of simple procurements, concluded contracts, and publication of reports on contract implementation. The Ministry’s obligation to appoint a person to monitor contract implementation was not within the scope of the UIP’s control. During this inspection, the inspector did not find any shortcomings in this department.

On the other hand, inspectors found deficiencies in the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation, from which we did not receive responses to our inquiries on this topic. There was also no response from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management or the Ministry of Labor.

According to the UIP’s report dated December 21, 2023, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation did not comply with the legal obligation to publish a contract with the company Bemaks for equipping the “Novka Ubović” elementary school in Tološi. This was only done after their inspection, with a six-month delay, at the end of December last year. The implementation report, despite the inspector’s order, has not been published to this day, although the deadline for the contract signed on June 28, 2023, was 30 days. This inspection was carried out following a submitted initiative for control. The obligation to appoint a person to monitor contract implementation was not part of this inspection either.

This investigative article was produced within the Project “Procurement under spotlight – Making Watchdogs Work!”, with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Serbia and Montenegro within the MATRA Rule of Law program. Project aims to empower and motivate watchdogs to combat corruption and undue influence in public procurement.