Ministry Defends Tender for Provision of Consultancy and Auditing Services

Bratislava, 19 February (TASR) - The Interior Ministry defends a contract for the provision of consultancy and auditing services, considering them to be necessary for the systematic modernisation and effective management of the ministry, spokesman for the ministry Matej Neumann stated in response to the criticism levied by the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) parties. The ministry explained that the scope of the agenda and the number of changes require specialised professional capacities, noting that this is a framework agreement and that the services are only needed temporarily. Neumann also assured that the expenses won't jeopardise the salaries of police officers or other ministry employees. "The essence of the framework agreement is that it is only used on the basis of actual needs and budgetary possibilities for the area for which it was concluded. Its actual value will be determined by public procurement. In addition, it will be concluded for four years, meaning that its validity will exceed this election period," stated Neumann. The ministry points out that it prepares and manages investments and reforms worth hundreds of millions of euros from EU funds and the state budget. According to the spokesman, such a scale of change requires specialised professional capacities. The ministry emphasised that it only needs them temporarily, during specific phases of projects and added that it would be financially inefficient and time-consuming to build all such specialised positions internally. "External consultancy therefore complements internal teams and enables reforms to be implemented faster, with higher quality, and with an emphasis on value for money," said the Interior Ministry. Progressive Slovakia criticised the tender worth nearly €33 million for consultancy and auditing services, arguing that instead of saving money and reducing staff numbers during fiscal consolidation, the ministry is hiring external consultants who are twice as expensive as internal employees. Criticism was also echoed by Freedom and Solidarity, which called on the interior minister to scrap the tender immediately and explain to the public why he wants to spend tens of millions of euros in this manner. am