'Slovakia' Party Criticises Hoodie Tender as Non-transparent, ZVJS Disagrees

Bratislava, 25 July (TASR) – The opposition's 'Slovakia' party has accused the Prison and Judicial Guard Corps (ZVJS) of holding a non-transparent tender for the purchase of service hoodies. Only one company submitted a bid — reportedly the same company that won a previous contract to supply polo shirts to police officers. The party suspects the contract was pre-arranged for a specific supplier and plans to refer the matter to the Public Procurement Authority (UVO). ZVJS responded to TASR stating that six entities initially showed interest, but only one submitted a price offer. The Corps rejected the party's claims as misleading, saying the conditions were neither discriminatory nor unusual. „At the end of the tender for hoodies for the members of the Prison and Judicial Guard Corps, only one offer was received — from the same company that previously secured the Interior Ministry deal — and naturally, this company won without competition,” said MP Gabor Grendel ('Slovakia') during a Friday press conference. He noted that if only two bidders join a tender, it may be legally cancelled, which he believes was the case here. „ZVJS did not cancel the tender, even though it likely knew in advance that only one company would submit a bid. We will therefore take this case to the Public Procurement Authority,” Grendel added. The movement is also calling on Prosecutor General Maros Zilinka to take action when public procurement rules are circumvented. MP Roman Mikulec ('Slovakia') explained that interested parties had two months to submit samples and price offers. „Several bidders warned that it would be physically impossible to meet this two-month deadline unless the ZVJS changed the conditions — only a supplier with pre-prepared samples could realistically comply,” he said. According to Mikulec, ZVJS rejected all requests to extend the deadline, despite repeated warnings that only one company was likely to participate. In response, ZVJS said the deadline for submitting bids was 70 days — 40 days longer than the legal minimum. „The timeframe set by the contracting authority was respected and, given the complexity and nature of the contract, appropriately defined,” said spokesperson Anna Beckova Ragasova in a statement to TASR. She added that no objections were lodged against the conditions or bid evaluation process. ZVJS also noted that this was a repeated procurement process. „During the public procurement, bidders submitted clarification requests, all of which were answered within the legal timeframe,” the spokesperson said. The ZVJS also refuted claims that multiple potential suppliers requested deadline extensions. „Such statements are at best misleading, as the electronic procurement platform guarantees anonymity,” she added. ZVJS denies that the contract was awarded without competition, stating that one bid was received offering €66.67 per hoodie. mf