Companies that benefited, Roseta Hajdari's ministry quietly changed millions of projects

This soft loan from the World Bank earmarked for grants from the Ministry of Industry, Enterprise and Trade, which, as the project management company, was “Pristina REA”, has been primarily assigned to private companies for manufacturing machinery of about 5m euros and another 5m euros as standard grant and certificate of products with ISO, labs and digitisation.

The Metrology and KIESA agency had realised that the agreement had been changed only after it was signed by the Minister of Finance and the World Bank, at MINT's request.

The agreement had not been modified, but it had been radically changed and the metrology programme of over 7m euros had been cancelled. Metrology reports that have been sent to Minister Hajdari have also been sent to former Prime Minister Vesel Krasniqi, but have not been taken into account, and all of this happened when the World Bank in Kosovo had no director.

Democracy.com has contacted World Bank's new director, Marco Mantovanelli, to ask whether he has been aware of this process and whether he has received a report from the former head of the Metrology Agency for wrongdoing, but has not returned.

For all these violations that had been committed during the process, Minister Hajdari had received paperwork from former head of the Metrology Agency Ferki Fyza.

Fyza has cleared up for Democracy.com that this whole process was carried out without his knowledge.

He claims there have been major violations during the re-assignment of these funds, which confirms that Minister Roseta Hajdari had also announced.

According to former chief chief Ferki Fyza, the tools have been re-assigned for support of small and medium-sized businesses.

There's been a field there, there's been room for abuse. I think that's what the prosecution has to do, because there's multiple violations in the process of re-assigning, but also”, Fyza said of Democracy.com.

According to him, the issue of supporting small and medium-sized businesses has been a related process between the cabinet of Minister Hajdari, Secretary and KIESA.

Anyway, Democracy. com has learned that even KIESA without her will had been removed, despite having her staff manager under the CREP programme leadership agreement for MGP.

This staff had cut off their work contracts without their consent, immediately after the change of the deal, thus paving the way for contracting a service delivery consulting company, which in just one year cost the budget hundreds of thousands of euros to manage the MGP programme.

“The funds have been for the supply of Metrology labs, for the establishment and empowerment of Metrology. In 2020, when Kurti I Government arrived, those funds were revised, they were re-assigned without my knowledge at the time I was head of the Metrology Agency. Then those funds have been passed, restored to support small and medium-sized businesses, with the approval of the current minister, who was also in Kurti Government, Roseta Hajdari, as well as with the approval at the time of the Finance Minister Besnik Bislim. This whole process is kept secret. I understand this transfer from when the Kurt I Government fell. At that time I wrote to the minister who had come to the new government, Vesel Krasniqi. I've informed him of the process and he told me it was done, that the funds had already been reddestined. As far as government Kurti was concerned, I informed him of all the procedures and violations that were made. I never got an answer from Heidi. I've informed him there were violations of previous procedures, even when he came to rule Hajdari the second time. I've never received paperwork or answers to that. What's more serious is that this soft loan of the World Bank was destined when it was approved in Parliament for the establishment and empowerment of Metrology, responsible for the delivery of labs. In the process, there has been a tendency to use funds. We've had official meetings at the time, which we've already entered in the pandemic, with representatives of the World Bank. Even when they saw that there were obstacles in this direction, they have made resumptions of tools, which in my opinion have been a serious violation, since the World Bank loan has been approved to the Kosovo Parliament for building metrology capacities”, Fyza for Democracy.com has said.

Democracy. co-ordinator Gazmend Mejzini and procurement consultant Aferdita Selmani had largely interferred and constantly hampered the processes of the Metrology programme. In his view, even avoiding World Bank procedures and bypassing them and not announcing specific matters to the chief of Metrology.

Gazmend Mayzin has told about Democracy.com that the restructuring of this project has been subject to negotiations and agreements made by the Ministry of Industry, Undertaking and Trade with the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank.

He has said the project has been changed through the cabinet of Minister and MINT Secretary's Office Irfan Libovica, as the same had been the director of the project.

I can't remember those details right now. Actually, this was placed at the highest level, which means the Secretary's Office, which was actually the director of the project. All agreements with the World Bank have been made through the Office of Secretary and Ministry Cabinet. We're project implementors. We implement, but we don't have the authority or responsibility you're mentioning. The financial agreement has been such and the project has been designed at the outset, as you are mentioning, but later when the project was restructured, it has actually been subject to negotiations and agreements that MINT has made with the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank. It was within the competencies of the Implore Units. The very word Imploremental Unit is for those who implement and help, but don't make a decision”, Majzin said of Democracy.com.

Mejzin has declared that there was no contact with the company “Pristina REA & WEglobal”.

I haven't had contact, nor anybody else with this company. For the procurement selection process, you might ask Venus Selmani”, Majzin said.

Democracy.com has also contacted the procurement consultant at MINT, Venus Selmani. Despite Selmani's saying that the answers to the issue were sent to the press office, from this office they have returned no answers to Democracy.com's address.

And, ex.d. Head of Agency K IESA, Nol Buzhala, did not want to be promoted on this issue, even though this agency was the implementation of the MGP programme under the 2017 agreement.

In the agency's two reports, it is also said that it is unknown how data for change-proposals to amend the CERP agreement, as those details do not match reality.

Democracy. com has also contacted the World Bank manager in Kosovo, Blerta Qerim, who also did not want to be promoted.

For managing around 10m euros, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Enterprises in November 2020 had opened the tender for the application of a consulting company to manage these tools.

The tender for management of these tools had won the consortium “Prishtina REA & The same was ranked third after the selection from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Trade.

According to the assessment the ministry had made with its co-ordination unit, the company “Consortium Recura & The stock association LLC” was selected as the first company, while “Consortium Deloite & ICK” was selected as second company.

While, consortium “Pristina REA & The global WE” had finally managed with the project even though it was selected as the third company.

For the delivery of consultancy services for a year, this consortium had obtained contracts of about 239,465.00 euros. This company has told about Democracy.com that the whole process has gone through MINT and the World Bank, failing to elaborate.

These things go through the Ministry of Commerce and the World Bank, we haven't been involved”, they said from this company.

From the company “Consortium Recura & The Associates sale LLC” has confirmed democracy. com that they have withdrawn from the project, although they have not shown how much the price has been offered to them by the Ministry of Industry, Undertaking and Trade.

Thank you for your question. Your information is correct that our consortium was originally chosen as the first bidder and therefore we were invited to negotiate the contract. After discussions of contractual modes and available budgets, our consortium has estimated that the required commitment exceeds the available budget level, and for that reason we have withdrawn and have not signed the agreement. We haven't had any issues or problems about the outcome of the assessment or any part of the process, which has been correct. The reason for our withdrawal has only been linked to the inefficiency of the budget designated for the required” commitment, said their response to Democracy.com.

And from “Consortium Deloite & The ICK” has not responded to the media's interest in the matter.

In addition, the College for Business and Technology (UBT) has competed for management of this programme, as the least appreciated company by the PIU and the ministry, which has also been contacted on the issue.

The UBT said about Democracy. com that they have not been invited to negotiations by the ministry at all. They even filed complaints with the ministry and the World Bank, but their accepted response sounded strange.

How were grant profit companies kept secret?

In July and August 2021, MINT had launched the second call for grants managed by “Pristina REA and WE Global”.

Ministry of Industry, Trade Undertaking and “Pristina REA & The global WE” has taken them four months to December 30, 2021, to assess about 500 grant applicant companies, which have benefited 142 of them.

Also, as Democracy.com has found, after reking the tools, 5m euros have been granted grants to local companies to purchase manufacturing machinery, which was neither envisioned in the first 2017 agreement nor in the second 2020 deal. The rest of the 5m euros has been provided for other activities, mainly with export growth.

Democracy.com has found that of 9.8m euros of grants benefiting selected companies, which, on average, received close to 70 thousand euros in grants, their names were not made at all, but only protocol numbers.

Consequently, citizens do not know who has benefited grants from this ministry.

Even former Metrology Chief Ferki Feyza has confirmed democracy. com that the ministry had contracted a company for the leadership of the process of these grants and these funds, according to him, have been distributed last year in total silence, without anyone knowing which businesses are being supported.

A nuclear company, which is behind duty to lead the process, which, according to information I have, has been paid about 1m euros, a process that has been able to lead a commission within the ministry. Those funds were spent under the aid of small and medium-sized businesses, while the metrology just collapsed and went down. This is a major violation for which both the minister and the responsible persons should be given responsibility. I know a company has been contracted to lead the process of these grants for small and medium-sized businesses. And, according to non-official information, these funds were distributed last year in total silence, without anyone knowing which businesses are supporting”, Fyza said.

Democracy. com has also demanded clarification by the Ministry of Industry, Undertaking and Trade concerning the process of changing this agreement, however, has received no response from this government dictatorship.

Also, Democracy. com has also contacted the Commission for Economics, Industry, Undertaking, and Market, if they have been aware of the whole process.

The chairman of this commission, Ferat Shala, has told Democracy.com that the commission has no information on this issue and the same will be raised to the commission and the Assembly.

The chairman of the Commission for Economics, Industry, Intervention and Trade, Mr. Ferat Shala, there's no information on the case. The moment there is information, media and opinion will be announced, because this issue will be raised to the commission and the next day”, says Shala's response, conveyed by the Assembly Media Office for Democracy.com.

Otherwise, the World Bank CREP project, signed by the Ministry of Finance and implemented by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, was approved in the Kosovo Assembly in 2017.

From the World Bank's soft credit, over 7m euros were earmarked for the establishment and empowerment of Metrology, respectively, for laboratory equipment. And 2.8 million (front for three calls with the MGP program) for the KIESA Agency.