SaS Calls on Sutaj Estok to Cancel "Overpriced" Computer Procurement Tender (2)

Bratislava, May 12 (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party is calling on Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) to cancel a computer procurement tender, citing an overpriced framework contract based on an analysis by the Finance Ministry's Value for Money Unit, and it's considering approaching the Public Procurement Office or the Supreme Audit Office (NKU), SaS members stated at a press conference on Monday. "This state and this government are incapable of consolidation. They're raising taxes, there's the transaction tax, all fees are going up, basically everything is going up, and people are paying for it out of their own pockets so that overpriced purchases can be made. For example, the Value for Money Unit has just come out with the shocking finding that Sutaj Estok is about to spend €122 million more on computer procurement than he should," stated MP Juraj Krupa (SaS). SaS acknowledged the need to purchase new computers but criticised the contract for being overpriced, and it questioned Sutaj Estok's claim that it's only a framework agreement and that the final amount may decrease, arguing that the framework should have been set lower from the start. "Who believes that they'll actually buy for less? They won't. This is how they set it up, and they want to spend €350 million on computers we don't need. Normally, public administration buys computers for €1,200 or €1,300, but now they plan to buy them for €3,400 each, plus €1,200 per monitor," stated SaS leader and MP Branislav Groehling. "The state hasn't even calculated how many of these computers government offices really need, what they already have, what they need, or whether they'll actually use the equipment. The framework contract mentions the purchase of 5,000 computers at €3,376 each, while the state usually buys standard computers for €1,220," added MP Marian Viskupic (SaS). The Value for Money Unit recommended reducing the maximum framework contract amount to the lowest tender offer, which would lower the total to €81.8 million. It also suggested replacing high-performance computers and monitors with standard devices and regularly considering auctioned prices from individual partial tenders in order to make further savings. lin/df