The state institutions violate the public procurement rules at all the stages, from favoring of an economic entity to exclusion of rivals and modification of bids. Public money is wasted by purchasing equipment and consumables that are inappropriate or of a poor quality and by promoting unjustified tax raises, project coordinator at the Analytical Center “Expert-Grup” Dumitru Budianschi said in a news conference at IPN. The think tank analyzed the Audit Office reports for 2012 on the management of public money in the energy sector and healthcare.
Economist Tatiana Savva said that the National Health Insurance Company, the National Clinical Hospital and the Mother and Child Center in 2012 mismanaged over 240 million lei in the public procurement process. The irregularities were committed because the two hospitals by January 1, 2013 didn’t have internal norms for organizing public procurement.
Tatiana Savva gave as example the purchase of oxygen generators. Three companies submitted bids in the tender contest. Two of them were later declared ineligible because they didn’t pay the participation tax. “The contest was held with only one participant. Eight days before the deadline, it modified the bid and the VAT on the import of equipment was paid by the National Clinical Hospital,” said the economist.
In another case in the energy sector, the thermoelectric plant CET-2 purchased a pump through intermediaries at a high price. The purchase price does not include the maintenance costs for a year. “It’s not clear who will service the equipment and during what period. There were strange situations when microscopes that didn’t have all the parts were bought. The institution had to spend more money to purchase them,” added Tatiana Savva.
“Expert-Grup” said about 30% of the mismanaged money is afterward lost.
