In Montenegro, significant amounts of money are still allocated to simple procurements contracted directly — nearly €68.8 million last year, which is €4.2 million more than in 2023. These procurements are individually worth up to €8,000, are not carried out through the Montenegrin Electronic Public Procurement System (CeJN), and are the least transparent — because contracts can be concluded with whomever the contracting authority chooses.
This was stated to Vijesti by public policy researcher at Institute Alternative, Dragana Jaćimović, commenting on the Government’s report on public procurement for last year.
She also emphasized that last year’s public procurement expenditure was the highest in the past 18 years.
According to the report, the total value of procurements in Montenegro last year amounted to €982.06 million, of which €847,582,273 were public procurements and €134,481,562 were procurements of electricity and coal. The report showed that total procurement spending last year was €118.76 million higher than the year before, while public procurement increased by €172.38 million compared to 2023. Public procurements are conducted by state authorities through CeJN.
Jaćimović stressed that the growth in overall procurement value in recent years is also influenced by an expanded state budget.
“What we read as negative in the report is the still high amount spent on simple procurements contracted directly, and the fact that it increased by almost €4.2 million compared to the previous year. It is important to emphasize that these are procurements of up to €8,000, which are not carried out through CeJN. Direct procurements allow for direct conclusion of invoices/contracts, which is the least transparent procedure, as it allows the contracting authority to conclude the deal with whomever it wants. Through previous research, the Institute Alternative identified numerous irregularities in the use of this mechanism, later confirmed by the State Audit Institution,” Jaćimović said.
She also pointed out that the amount of simple direct procurements of €68.8 million is significantly higher than the €47.8 million contracted for the same procurements conducted through the electronic system. She noted that the most problematic aspect of simple procurements is that the law does not recognize misdemeanor penalties when irregularities are found in their implementation, and said that she will monitor how direct spending evolves this year — since the Ministry of Finance introduced annual limits on direct contracting at the end of last year.
She added that the goal is to reduce their share in the total value of procurements, in line with the recommendations of the European Commission.
Asked about the European Union (EU) threshold, above which Montenegro concluded public procurements worth €381.07 million, Jaćimović said that it determines the value of works, services, and goods and depends on the subject of procurement, above which the rules set out in EU directives must be applied. She emphasized that this part of the report provides statistical data on procurements and is mainly intended for reporting purposes, in the way it is done in EU countries.
Jaćimović also reflected on competitiveness, adding that according to the data, three bids were submitted per procedure on average, but that 39 percent — or €330 million — of total public procurements were contracted based on only one submitted offer. She pointed out that in 2023 this percentage was 33 percent.
“What should also be analyzed from the report is why procurements were not carried out through innovation partnerships, competitive dialogue, and competitive procedures with negotiations. These are new procedures introduced in 2020, and the report data show that not a single procurement has been conducted through these procedures in the past four years. It is necessary to find the reasons why these procedures were not used and to strengthen the promotion and benefits of such procedures for bidders,” Jaćimović emphasized.
The text was originally published in the print edition of Vijesti and is also available on the Vijesti portal. The author is Mirko Kotlaš.