Another activity of our project Improve Integrity of Public Contractors was the preparation of two case studies for two large public contracts and procurements. The objects of the first one is the Concessionary Agreement for the financing, design, renovation, supply, reorganization and functioning of the PPP concessionary for providing laboratory services to hospitals, regional and municipal ones. The second case study refers to the procedure for Buying uniforms for the State Police for several years.
The first procedure is a procedure conducted in 2017 and finalized with a contract being awarded only in 2019. The selection was done through an open tender and a consortium of several companies was selected as the winner, [1]with these companies established a concessionary company later[2]. The procedure was followed by wide debate about the selection of the winning operator, as one of the companies of the winning consortium was registered in a country under the shell regime. The local authorities did not demonstrate any efforts to make any verifications of the integrity of this company or to check for potential conflicts of interest of its owner(s).
The case study developed as part of the project identified some wrong procedures that had already been opposed by the Government-contracted Consultant. Upon review of this case study, it was found that:
1) The Contracting Authority – the Ministry of Health, did not meet one of the essential conditions provided by the Law and Regulations on concessions/PPPs, namely: The legal obligation of comparing the PPP Model with the Public procurement to prove the cost effectiveness of the PPP project compared to the Public procurement, which would allow for the development of this Project;
2) The Contracting Authority has not published any reference for the financial analysis based on technical, quantitative, or statistical elements for the laboratory services as the basis for calculating the value of the Project in the amount of 13,005,966,000 lekë, without VAT;
3) The Implementation of the Laboratory Project for almost the entire Territory of the Republic of Albania carries an edit risk for the Public party, because in case of failure, this could lead to collapse of the Public laboratory system, which would be a health catastrophe;
4) The Contracting Authority has failed to deliver on its commitment to reduce the social impact of the project.
5) The Winner of the Project is selected in contradiction with the legal framework on concession/PPPs, the criteria published by The Contracting Authority, and without taking into consideration the Opinion of the IFC international expert;
6) The contract does not provide for one of the main insurances for projects of this nature, such as “Insurance of Professional Liability”.
Find the Case Study HERE (Albanian) and Here ( English)
The case of central purchases represents the highest value tender held so far by the Central Purchasing Authority. This tender is held on behalf of the State Police Directorate. The procedure selected for contracting in this case is a particular procedure rarely used, given its limits regarding the high monetary values. What is interesting is that this tender is being held at the same time the project is implemented. This case was selected given the problems already evident with the type of procedure followed[3], already excluding interested operators from competing by selecting them through the limited procedure
Find the Case Study – Here ( Albanian)
[1] http://openprocurement.al/sq/hconcession/view/id/6
[2] http://opencorporates.al/sq/nuis/L91923002T
[3] http://openprocurement.al/sq/agency/view/id/344
Case Study – Public Procurement Big Contracting
/in Events, Homeposts, Publications /by adminAnother activity of our project Improve Integrity of Public Contractors was the preparation of two case studies for two large public contracts and procurements. The objects of the first one is the Concessionary Agreement for the financing, design, renovation, supply, reorganization and functioning of the PPP concessionary for providing laboratory services to hospitals, regional and municipal ones. The second case study refers to the procedure for Buying uniforms for the State Police for several years.
The first procedure is a procedure conducted in 2017 and finalized with a contract being awarded only in 2019. The selection was done through an open tender and a consortium of several companies was selected as the winner, [1]with these companies established a concessionary company later[2]. The procedure was followed by wide debate about the selection of the winning operator, as one of the companies of the winning consortium was registered in a country under the shell regime. The local authorities did not demonstrate any efforts to make any verifications of the integrity of this company or to check for potential conflicts of interest of its owner(s).
The case study developed as part of the project identified some wrong procedures that had already been opposed by the Government-contracted Consultant. Upon review of this case study, it was found that:
1) The Contracting Authority – the Ministry of Health, did not meet one of the essential conditions provided by the Law and Regulations on concessions/PPPs, namely: The legal obligation of comparing the PPP Model with the Public procurement to prove the cost effectiveness of the PPP project compared to the Public procurement, which would allow for the development of this Project;
2) The Contracting Authority has not published any reference for the financial analysis based on technical, quantitative, or statistical elements for the laboratory services as the basis for calculating the value of the Project in the amount of 13,005,966,000 lekë, without VAT;
3) The Implementation of the Laboratory Project for almost the entire Territory of the Republic of Albania carries an edit risk for the Public party, because in case of failure, this could lead to collapse of the Public laboratory system, which would be a health catastrophe;
4) The Contracting Authority has failed to deliver on its commitment to reduce the social impact of the project.
5) The Winner of the Project is selected in contradiction with the legal framework on concession/PPPs, the criteria published by The Contracting Authority, and without taking into consideration the Opinion of the IFC international expert;
6) The contract does not provide for one of the main insurances for projects of this nature, such as “Insurance of Professional Liability”.
Find the Case Study HERE (Albanian) and Here ( English)
The case of central purchases represents the highest value tender held so far by the Central Purchasing Authority. This tender is held on behalf of the State Police Directorate. The procedure selected for contracting in this case is a particular procedure rarely used, given its limits regarding the high monetary values. What is interesting is that this tender is being held at the same time the project is implemented. This case was selected given the problems already evident with the type of procedure followed[3], already excluding interested operators from competing by selecting them through the limited procedure
Find the Case Study – Here ( Albanian)
[1] http://openprocurement.al/sq/hconcession/view/id/6
[2] http://opencorporates.al/sq/nuis/L91923002T
[3] http://openprocurement.al/sq/agency/view/id/344
Purchases for Covid-19 Situation, the Albanian Government applies Secrete Contracts, bypassing Participation and Transparency
/in Events, Homeposts, Media Coverage @en, Press Releases /by adminAIS, an organization promoting Open Data Albania, observes with concern that the Albanian Government has decided, in an anti-constitutional manner, illegally, and without any legitimate need, to consider Secret Contracting and Procedures for purchasing during the emergency created by Covid-19.
Our organization considers these acts of the Government as anti-constitutional, illegal, unjustified, and in contradiction with the basic principle of good governance, i.e. Accountability and Transparency. Direct Negotiation (Article 33 of the Procurement Law) and the Request according to the Limited Procedure (Article 31 of the Procurement Law) are sufficient to guarantee fast, efficient, and intelligent Contracting and Procurement, and proportional to the Essential Interests of the People of a State.
AIS joins the Open Contracting Partnership Recommendations for Governance, recommendations for Purchases in the situations created by Covid-19, for Fast, Smart and Transparent Purchases (Open) https://www.open-contracting.org/what-is-open-contracting/covid19/
Treasury transactions; how and how much are being paid by the budgetary institutions for their bills;
/in Events, Events, Homeposts, Press Releases /by adminEvery Treasury Transactions made by our budgetary institutions, be it common or emergency payments. The Treasury Transactions is a well-structured database containing data about every payment made by budgetary institutions. The data catalogue has information on any transaction from 2012 and onwards. In addition, using search engines and communication filters, you may access information about payments made by institutions, by categories of expenses, and beneficiaries, according to the payment amount. We will continue updating our information every Friday. Access here
Kursori.org, an e-learning platform, in quarantine empowering itself for a well-paid and online labor market.
/in Events, Events, Homeposts, Press Releases /by adminOur most useful database in times of quarantine Kursori.org .The ODK and AIS have applied in the last two years an e-Learning platform for enabling young people to develop their digital skills, a program that enables training on skills for an innovative market of Information Technology. The database is designed to assist students in Kosovo and the high school students of Lezha and Kurbin, Albania, to develop for a safe job market. From today, our e-Learning platform Kursori is open to everyone. Young people and anyone else may obtain three levels of skills to develop their capacity, so they can make the most of it to benefit the most and not waste their time while in quarantine. Kursori.Org is supported by the European Delegation as an activity of the Open ICT Education for Youth Employability Project and is financed by an EU IPA cross–border project. The objective of the project is to foster youth employability providing open access to critical ICT knowledge and skills, and strengthening cross–border cooperation between the educational institutions. In times of quarantine, this is a useful tool for professional training and development that allows you to work from home. We are opening this platform for everyone, it’s in Albanian. Click, register and become skilled. A great team of Tech Leaders is there to assist you.
What the Health Sector is procuring includes small purchases for the safety of the regional doctors;
/in Events, Events, Homeposts, Media Coverage @en /by adminWhat are our Health institutions purchasing through negotiations for emergencies or through common purchasing procedures? We have a track record of all the public health sector investments and purchases. In the past two weeks, a few purchases have been recorded for the reinforcement of hygienic protection for health buildings. Link health tenders
Other transparent procurements for the following institutions are being updated with accessible and well-structured documents on our databases:
Tenders for Local Government Units: Open Procurement Municipality and subordinate institutions. Link
Tenders of the Central Purchasing Agency, purchases for executive institutions Link
Transparent procurements by the Albanian Road Authority, tenders for infrastructure Link
Tenders by state-owned companies (SOCs) buying, the major suppliers of massive services, such as drinking water, electricity, etc. Link
Tender for the Reconstruction Program for the State-Supported Share
/in Events, Homeposts, Press Releases /by adminOpen Procurement Albania publishes information for procurement procedures worth of 9.4 billion Albanian Lek (76,42 million Euros) for Homes and Schools damaged by the Earthquake. The Government opts for Limited Procedure, avoiding open bidding competition. The 20-days timeframe for submission of requests by interested competitors is not respected.
Data, documents, and information on every stage of such procedures can be easily accessed in our database for transparent procurement: http://www.openprocurement.al/sq/albaniandf/list
The Albanian government through the Albanian Development Fund has announced contractions worth 900410 141 (nine billion and four hundred million and ten thousand and one hundred and forty-one Albanian Lek). Equivalent to 76,42 million Euros). Purpose of tender: Construction of Homes and Schools in the regions affected by the Earthquake (November 2019) The financing is from the state budget. The procedure applied is the limited procedure (not open). This procedure requires interested parties to submit a request to the authority, and then the authority selects the bidders based on the eligibility criteria, and not on the bids they have submitted. The selected companies or operators are then notified of their selection and asked to submit their bids to the authority, which selects the best bid. This non-open procedure is envisioned by the Law on Public Procurement (Law No. 9643, Article 31). The law requires such procedures to be used only when it is necessary to make a difference between the selection phase, where candidates are qualified/disqualified, and the phase of deciding who the winning operator is following a review of their bids. The Limited Procedure is to apply in specific cases and requires legal arguments. With the bidders already known (through the selection phase), the process is more likely to present risks for the competition and efficiency compared with the Open Procedure. The contracting authority would have to carefully argue why it opted for this procedure. Such arguments are not found in the information made available for the public regarding the tender documents, or in any reports by the Albanian Development Fund.
The list of procedures published on 10 and 11 March includes:
Dear friends, we wish you are well and safe in these difficult weeks of Covid 19 pandemic. Our staff is teleworking since the 10th of March. Each of us is safely working from home, being in online communication with each other, our collaborators, and targets groups. In these difficult days we continue to disclose data, ensure transparency and assess risks related with payment and public contracting to strengthen information, transparency and accountability. Our motto: Follow Taxpayers’ Money
Kërkesë për Informim mbi masa kapacitete import terapi intensive Covid 19
/in Events, Homeposts, Press Releases /by adminTogether for Life (OJF) dhe Instituti Shqiptar i Shkencave / Open Data Albania OJF i kanë drejtuar një kërkesë për Informim, mbi masa kapacitete import terapi intensive Covid 19, Ministrisë së Shëndetësisë.
Kërkesën e plotë për Informim e gjeni Këtu
Super tenders in times of epidemics. The Albanian Government allocates 9.4 billion Albanian leks (about 76.42 Million Euros) to Post-Earthquake Reconstruction following the November 2019 Earthquake.
/in Events, Events, Homeposts, Press Releases /by adminTender and Procurement in times of epidemics. The Albanian Government has not stopped its usual procurement procedures. The post-earthquake reconstruction program has just begun tendering in March. Open Procurement Albania publishes procurements, worth a total fund limit of 9.4 billion Albanian leks (without VAT) for houses and schools, which were damaged by the earthquake. The Government opts for “limited procedure”, avoiding open bidding competition. Based on Law No. 9643/2006 article No. 34, and Decision No. 914/2014 of the Council of Ministers, the time available for bidders to submit their tenders is 20 days, which is a criterion that the Authority has not met, putting the procedure at risk. The tender submission deadline is set in contradiction with the 20-days deadline. The procurement was announced on March 10th, the deadline for document submission was March 19th, i.e. nine calendar days only. The list The list of tenders is updated on our web-database for public procurement procedures conducted by the Albanian Development Fund.
Our Project Open Contracting Albania and Red Flag Index Impact, media coverage, and public pressure
/in Homeposts, Homeposts /by adminThere have been dozens of media articles published every month based on the data provided by the system for Transparent Procurement and Red Flag algorithm. The articles are generally of a reporting nature and quite discrete usually in the arguments they provide. The information available has helped especially fact based journalism. There have never been so many articles in the media on public tenders and contracts.
Potential Audience
Citizens; Media Representatives; Citizens Advisory Panels of Municipalities, Citizens Counsels, local and central government institutions interested in good models of opening up public information; Stakeholders and representatives of organizations involved in watchdog or advocacy processes; Parties interested in implementation of Open Contracting models.
The information has encouraged model of reporting, investigative, reactive, and very civilized journalism
Some of the titles of these articles in English are listed below:
https://exit.al/en/2018/11/16/e1-million-more-to-fusha/
https://exit.al/en/2018/03/28/fusha-wins-vlora-boulevard-tender-in-another-dubious-procedure/
https://exit.al/en/2019/02/19/municipality-of-tirana-gives-e360-thousand-in-a-suspicious-tender/
https://shqiptarja.com/lajm/investimetja-50-subjektet-te-cilat-kane-marre-me-shume-tendera-nga-bashkite
http://www.qualityjournalism.com.al/2018/08/25/bashkia-elbasan-tendera-jo-transparente-dhe-hije-konflikti-interesi/
https://exit.al/2018/08/gjithe-shteti-per-fusha-shpk-mbi-e43-milione-kontrata-nga-pushteti-lokal/
http://shekulli.com.al/tirana-e-shkodra-kryebashkiaket-firmosin-tendere-pertej-mandatit/
https://www.gazetatema.net/2018/10/08/tendera-pa-gare-voltana-ademi-e-kthen-bashkine-e-shkodres-ne-prone-te-saj/
https://www.faktor.al/2019/03/07/fondi-shqiptar-i-zhvillimit-skualifikon-10-kompani-pervec-fituesit-emri-i-kompani-shume-te-njohur/
http://www.rd.al/2018/07/kush-jane-5-kompanite-qe-kane-fituar-me-shume-para-nga-tenderat-ne-3-vite-kryeson-fusha-shpk/
https://shekulli.com.al/bashkia-tirane-tender-i-dyshimte-per-mirembajtjen-e-ndricimit/
https://www.gazetatema.net/2018/05/29/klsh-rilindja-urbane-e-belshit-u-be-me-tendera-te-paligjshem-reagon-bashkia/
https://shqiptarja.com/lajm/kryebashkiaku-i-kavajes-10-tendera-te-dyshimte-brenda-vitit
https://lapsi.al/2018/05/29/10-e-tenderave-te-bashkive-jepen-me-klientelizem/
https://exit.al/2019/05/luks-dhe-korrupsionin-ne-ndertesen-e-edi-rames/
http://www.panorama.com.al/2-6-milione-euro-per-400-pisha-pd-kallezon-penalisht-veliajn-ja-dy-akuzat/
https://a2news.com/2019/05/14/bashkite-62-miliarde-leke-me-shume-per-tendere-para-zgjedhjeve/
https://gazetamapo.al/para-zgjedhjeve-veliaj-1-miliarde-leke-me-shume-tendera/
https://portavendore.al/2019/05/20/bashkia-klos-tre-tendere-ish-kompanise-se-kryetarit/
https://portavendore.al/2019/05/01/bashkia-e-tiranes-shpall-tenderin-mbi-104-milione-leke-per-parkun-rinia-ja-si-do-te-jete/
https://portavendore.al/2019/03/13/hapet-tenderi-per-bulevardin-zogu-i-pare-7-milione-dollare-per-600-metra/
https://portavendore.al/2018/09/12/dhjete-kompani-fitojne-gjysmen-e-tendereve-1-miliardesh-te-bashkive/
https://portavendore.al/2018/12/07/bashkia-e-tiranes-103-tendere-te-dyshimte-per-6-muaj/
https://portavendore.al/2018/08/29/bashkia-e-elbasanit-tendere-pa-gare-dhe-hije-te-konfliktit-te-interesit/
https://portavendore.al/2019/01/04/bashkite-harxhojne-58-milione-leke-per-festa-dhe-zbukurime/
https://exit.al/2018/12/tjeter-kontrate-e-paligjshme-prej-4-milione-euro-nga-bashkia-tirane-per-alko-impex/
http://www.droni.al/2019/04/07/super-vjedhje-buxheti-i-shtetit-eshte-ndare-me-miqte-dhe-deputetet-shifrat-te-marrin-frymen/
http://www.standard.al/2019/04/16/skandali-nuk-kemi-uje-por-100-milion-leke-shkojne-pe-kompanite-qe-ruajne-ujsjellesin/
https://sarandaweb.net/tenderi-me-flamur-te-kuq-ne-bashkine-finiq-2-leke-me-pak-se-fondi-limit/
https://exit.al/2018/05/prokurimet-publike-te-bashkive-10-perqind-e-tendereve-me-probleme-konkurrence/
https://faktoje.al/sheshi-skenderbej-dhe-beteja-miliarda-lekeshe-e-dekades-se-fundit/
https://lapsi.al/2019/04/15/kompania-fusha-fiton-nje-tjeter-tender-pa-gare-rekord-43-kontrata-nga-erion-veliaj/
https://balkanweb.com/landfilli-ne-sharre-vjel-parate-publike-e-private-ja-shifrat/
http://open.data.al/sq/lajme/lajm/id/2431/Miliona-per-klientet-therrime-per-qytetaret-precedenti-korruptiv-i-Veliajt-tek-Pazari-i-Ri
http://open.data.al/sq/lajme/lajm/id/2416/350-mije-dollare-tendera-aktivistja-Pse-duhet-te-dorehiqet-Elisa-Spiropali
Our Project for Empowering Youth in Tech Industry, BootCamp with students of kursori.org
/in Homeposts /by adminEmpowerment of Youth through online training and employment opportunities in the Tech-Industry market. This is the impact of the project implemented by two organizations in Kosovo and Albania, the ODK and AIS. The project enabled school students from non-developed areas such Kurbini and Lezha to be trained and mentored at three levels via the platform Kursori.org. Thirty of the best students, trained and distinguished for their developers’ skills worked together during the BootCamp to program business ideas. In the end, the works were presented in front of Tech-Industry businesses representatives in Albania and Kosovo, who are looking for junior staff in their companies. BootCamp is on of the activities of our Open ICT Education project for Youth Employability, funded by the European Union in Albania as part of the IPA Cross Border Cooperation Albania-Kosovo. You may find the successful works conducted in the Bootcamp on our site and on the social networks of AIS and ODK.