Montenegro continues to allocate a substantial amount of money for direct simple procurements, totaling nearly 68.8 million euros last year, which is an increase of 4.2 million euros compared to 2023. These individual procurements, valued at up to 8,000 euros, bypass the electronic public procurement system (CeJN) and lack transparency, allowing deals to be made with any preferred party.

This information was shared with “Vijesti” by Dragana Jaćimović, a public policy researcher at the NGO “Institute Alternative,” in response to the Government’s report on public procurement for the previous year.

Jaćimović highlighted that last year’s spending on public procurement reached its highest level in the past 18 years.

According to the report, the total procurement value in Montenegro last year amounted to 982.06 million euros, which included 847,582,273 euros in public procurements and 134,481,562 euros in electricity and coal procurements. The report also revealed an increase of 118.76 million euros in total procurements and 172.38 million euros in public procurements compared to the previous year, with public procurements conducted by state authorities via CeJN.

Jaćimović noted that the increased value of procurements in recent years is also a result of a growing state treasury.

“Our concern from the report is that the amount for simple direct procurements remains high, with an increase of nearly 4.2 million compared to last year. It’s crucial to highlight that these procurements, capped at 8,000 euros, are not processed through CeJN. Direct procurements allow for immediate invoice or contract conclusion, which is the least transparent process, enabling deals to be struck with any desired entity. The Alternative Institute’s research has uncovered numerous irregularities linked to this mechanism, which were corroborated by the State Audit Institution,” explained Jaćimović.

She further remarked that the total of 68.8 million euros in simple direct procurements far exceeds the 47.8 million euros allocated to similar contracts processed through the electronic system. Jaćimović pointed out that the most troubling aspect of these simple procurements is the absence of misdemeanor penalties when irregularities occur and she will be closely monitoring direct spending this year, as the Ministry of Finance imposed annual restrictions on direct contracts at the end of last year.

She added that the objective is to diminish their proportion of the total procurement value, aligning with recommendations from the European Commission.

When asked about the EU threshold, above which Montenegro engaged in public procurement worth 381.07 million euros, Jaćimović explained that it specifies the value applicable to works, services, and goods, depending on the procurement subject, above which EU directive rules should be implemented. She emphasized that this section of the report provides statistical procurement data, primarily for reporting purposes similar to practices in EU nations.

“What also necessitates analysis is the absence of procurements conducted via innovation partnerships, competitive dialogues, and competitive procedures with negotiations. These new procedures were introduced in 2020, and the report indicates that none have been used in the last four years. Investigating the reasons behind the underutilization of these procedures is essential, along with boosting awareness about their benefits for bidders,” she stressed.

Jaćimović discussed competitiveness, noting that data revealed an average of three bids per procedure, yet 39 percent or 330 million euros of total public procurement was contracted based solely on one submitted bid. She emphasized that this percentage was 33 percent in 2023.

The lack of procurement through innovation partnerships, competitive dialogue, and competitive procedures with negotiations requires investigation. Jaćimović pointed out that since these procedures were introduced in 2020, no procurement has been conducted through them in the past four years.

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