“Stenta 1”, Ferid Agani says there had been no case of overpassing administrative direction

This statement, Agan gave it at Friday's session, in the case known as “Stanta 1”, where along with former Health Ministry Secretary Gani Shabanin, are accused of dealing with private hospitals for offering services that were not offered in public hospitals without tender procedures and contrary to the Procurement Law, reports the “Bettim for Justice”.

Agan said that as minister, the contract for which it has proved not to be based on law has been halted.

My “task has been to forward legitimacy to the Ministry of Health, if at some point I have information that the law was violated at any level, I automatically ask the responsibilities, but this has not been in my case”, he added.

While, in terms of preparing a patient's file until it is reached at the Executive Board, the accused Agani has clarified that the patient's file aimed at exploiting services outside public health institutions has been prepared by the special office for this kind of treatment by completing the prior documentation of the administrative instruction in effect, in which it has to be the medical evaluation commission report and the Executive Board's report on treatment outside public health institutions.

According to him, the subject was then forwarded to the office of the ministry's secretary general and to his cabinet for courses worth more than 10 thousand euros, and according to administrative instruction 10/2013 this procedure has ended with the signing of the request for a loan of financial means from the budget programme manager and the health ministry's authorising official.

On the other hand, Agani has clarified that the Board's decisions have been applicable at two levels appointed by the minister in the composition of 3 members in the 2-year term, while on the basis of the 02/2010 Administrative Guide, the first commission for complaints has nominated the secretary general as the minister.

He also said that determining payments for patients who have needed treatment outside public institutions of 70% and 100% has been the exclusive task of the Executive Board, defined with relevant administrative guidelines.

On the other hand, answering the questions of accused Gani Shabani's defender, lawyer Skender Musa said that had been fair to the secretary and that he as minister to change the Executive Board's decision regarding the increase or reduction of value from 70% to 100% or vice versa, Agani said that in no way after this right to relevant administrative guidelines was delegated by the Minister of Executive Board for treatment outside public institutions because instructions were signed by the minister.

Also, he said the Executive Board has been an independent body tasked with regular reporting.

Agan has clarified that in the first days when he received the mandate, the pharmaceutical department had presented the case for expired stations in the QKUK warehouse worth 270 thousand euros.

Asked by court member Lutfi Shala that what had to be done to function invasive cardiology not to make these agreements but patients to do these services within public institutions, Agani said that the great absence had been the cardiosurgeology clinic at QKUK because according to it during the invasive cardiology procedures may be up to the cases of complications, and in this direction they have taken steps to establish Karadigy Clinic, which he said was opened in a year after his mandate.

On the other hand, Agan said that as a second factor, it has been the need to improve the necessary equipment for choreography and stunism, what it had accomplished to negotiate with the Austrian government to secure a low-scale interest loan for the purchase of this equipment and to build appropriate spaces for their deployment.

“These financial means have been anchored in the medium-term cost framework of the so-called “Kash” in the Law on the Annual Budget for 2012-2015, and with these tools, equipment that are currently in operation at KKUK”, he added.

Agan said he had insisted that the service take place during 24 hours after it was only done until 1500 hours, but that the obstacle to this was said the lack of staff trained to provide these services during 24 hours.

To overcome this obstacle, I have linked special co-operation agreements with the cardiology clinic “Qskuk Mother Teresa” in Tirana so that we can have the right professional framework for service 24 hours”, said Agani.

Agan said that during his term as minister, Kosovo citizens have experienced acute infrastructure daily and that they have not been able to wait three or six months to be treated.

I've had to work on three parallel tracks, try to find solutions for patients at QKUUK with those doctors we have, improve the level of the use of expendable material and the children of colleagues from Tirana to work with them in this direction” he added.

He said that the situation in those days had been very difficult, since there had been only one camera and a choreographer working from time to time in the CKUK.

I've been happy that in the private health sector, investments are coming with services that the QKUK is unable to offer or are only running until 3 because after 3 am there are no doctors who can drive. Once again, I'm saying those agreements have been binding”, Agan said.

On the other hand, he has said the board has decided for the institution where service would be taken according to both bills, one of those at lower prices by determining how much will be paid, and in addition to the amount it has had to be seen as to whether it falls into rates that are compensated 100% or not, deciding in large amounts of votes and signing it with decision-making processes.

According to him, the bill has covered only the price of health care, while the ministry has covered the travel price only if the patient died while exploiting that service abroad.

Responding to the court's question of whether patients were obliged according to the agreements to receive medical treatment at those institutions, Agan said the agreements in no way obliged patients to receive treatment at any institution.

Likewise, Agan said that doctors have had the full right to recommend to the patient at any health institution that they have thought is useful to the patient, and they have, according to him, had to report to the patient where they can perform services.

Finally, in his defense Agan said he regrets that this indictment has ruined health system reform in Kosovo, which had had to begin in 2015, supported by the World Bank, the international monetary fund of $26m.

The next hearings on this occasion were assigned on July 1st and 22nd, where defense will be provided by accused Gani Shabani.

Otherwise, former Health Minister Ferid Agani and former Health Ministry Secretary (MSH) Gani Shabani were found guilty of misusing the official position in April 2019.

Agan had been sentenced to two years and six months in prison, and Shaban had two years in prison. But after the complaints, this sentence had been annulled by the Court of Appeals in December 2019, and the subject had become a first - degree retrial.

The State Prosecutor, on June 15, 2016, had filed charges against former Health Minister Ferid Agani, MS Secretary General Gani Shaban and 62 other people for criminal acts “the abuse of official position or authority”, “bribe taking”, “bribery”, <6> irresponsible medical treatment”, “The illegal anti-law against legal activity and pharmaceutical> <x-8> and <x>

On February 26, 2018, this case was isolated in three parts, so accused Agan and Shaban are tried separately, while over 40 public hospital doctors are charged in the case known as “Stanta 2”, while private hospital owners are charged in case “Stanta 3”

Former Minister Agani, along with former Health Ministry Secretary Gani Shaban, is accused of misusing their official position on the case of linking private hospitals co-operation agreements, as well as sharing tools for patients treated in these hospitals.

According to the indictment, which had been changed in the final word held on April 18, 2019, there is a well-founded doubt that between the time period of April 22nd 2012, December 31st, the accused Agani and Shaban, acting in co-ordination with each other and in co-operation with other indictees in this case, Ali Hocaoglu and Borche Petrovski, and violating the public procurement law have misused their position.

Such a thing, according to the prosecution, the accused Shaban in the quality of the secretary-general in the MSH, had signed co-operation agreements on providing health services that were not offered to public institutions.

These agreements he allegedly signed with private hospitals International Medicine Hospital (IMH) and Intermed The EDA, without announcing the tender for providing these services.

While the indictment continues, accused Agan on the quality of the Ministry of Health, allegedly failed to prevent the signing of these agreements, even though they had been contrary to the public procurement law. However, the same had influenced the accused Shaban to become their signature and, after signing these agreements, continued to misuse of official office and authority by overcoming their competencies, where they had deliberately and knowingly not taken action to supply cardiology at QUKU, but rather, in co-operation with Honkaoglu and Petrovski, were paid to the IHM and private hospitals. EDA's worth 4,555,553.00 euros.

There, according to the indictment, Agan and Shaban had committed the criminal offence of abuse of office or official authority, with which they had damaged Kosovo's budget in many of the 4,555,553.00 euros.

Both of the accused had been acquitted of charges charged in the initial review held on February 26, 2018.

Otherwise, when it is about five years since the establishment of the indictment in this case, the judicial epilogue of this charge does not appear even near.

until case “Stanta 1”, had once received first-degree epilog and has already turned into retrial, the other two cases, “Stanta 2” and “Stanta 3” still stands on trial in the first instance. In case “Stanta 3”, only one judicial examination session, and in case “Stanta 2”, several sessions have been held, but the issue still remains in the witness hearing phase.

In this criminal case, investigations were initially conducted against 116 physical persons and 4 legal persons. However, for 56 physical persons, no legal conditions have been met to be included in this indictment, so the same investigations have ceased. After the indictment was filed, the prosecution had renounced prosecution of cardiologist Africa Bekteshi, arguing that the same was wrongly involved in the indictment.