KDI: Public money is constantly being misused

Taxpayers' money is constantly being misused through poor management. So said the “Advanced Investment” table, where the economic consequences, derived from poor contract management and lack of performance performance of economic operators in public procurement, were discussed.

Diana Metushi- Krasniqi from KDI, which presented the report “Armed Investments”, said that poor management of contracts is costing Kosovo taxpayers, both in quality and in the cost of services they are receiving.

“Report the accepted investments, points out, that it's not just a perception, but now it's a fact, that taxpayers' money is being misused and lost, constantly, through poor public money management. Therefore, because capital investments account for investments with cost, life expectancy, sustainability, feasibility and the highest impact on our welfare as citizens, where the main investor is the taxpayer, while the main beneficiary is citizen, we as taxpayers cannot tolerate a further ill-management and loss of public money”, the KP reported.

Krasniqi said they have analysed several cases of contracts, focused on three contracts, such as construction of the Tajfik Changaı elementary school and Fajik Konicaão, in Ferizaj and construction of the business park in Drenas as three projects in which jobs have not been performed properly. She said that in these cases the economic operator has not been penalised, but has been rewarded with further construction.

“In the primary school ʹTefik Changa' who has been on the project for 25 model schools, a terrible job has been done, which, after 24 complaints over the seven years by the school leadership, addressed to the municipal education department and August, has finally received attention this year and has been invested in over 55 thousand euros for obtaining preliminary investments. All of this is work that was previously paid for in construction of the school, and had shown problems since promoting this object. In addition to those 24 complaints addressed to the DKA and August, the ministry has still entrusted the same economic operators and the construction of the economic high school “Fic Konica”, which with only a year after promotion is in a state of fly”, she said.

Safet Hoxha, chairman of the public procurement regulatory commission, said there are some things for which procurement pays the bill unjustly. According to him, the contract may be good, but it has poor contract planning and management.

“We can make an extremely good contract, in terms of public procurement procedures, but if it is achieved poorly, managed poorly, then the image of procurement is going catastrophic. Or we can also do good contract management, even good procurement procedure. But if planning has been weak, what to imagine is the growth case, which we have not been able to plan first where the gym should be placed then the effects of budget spending remain zero”, he said.