KCCG: The inspection confirmed that we procured oil according to regulations

The Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG) announced that the Directorate for Inspection Affairs - Department for Public Procurement - confirmed that last year's KCCG tender for food products was conducted in accordance with all regulations on public procurement.

"After the inspection that was carried out at our initiative, the inspection stated in the minutes that there are no objections to this tender, as well as that it was established that the suppliers of KCCG are invoicing the contracted prices, in accordance with the concluded contracts and the selected offers", states KCCG.

The union of freelance workers of KCCG previously submitted a criminal complaint to the Special Prosecutor's Office due to suspicion of fraud during public procurement of food, claiming that this institution pays oil and sugar at twice the price.

KCCG states that in last year's tender for the procurement of food products, six bidders submitted offers.

"For the lot in which, among other things, there was also oil, bids were submitted by two bidders, only one of whom submitted a correct bid, which was also noted by the inspection. The other bidder did not appeal the decision by which his bid was rejected as incorrect. Please note that in the offer of the supplier whose offer was rejected as incorrect, the oil price was EUR 2,35 without VAT. Considering that the contracts concluded in this procedure are publicly available in CEJN, the interested public has the opportunity to be informed about all the contracts prices. On this occasion, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that a large number of products, which make up the most important part of the specifications and needs of the kitchen, have been contracted at a price that is significantly lower than the price at which these products could be purchased in retail during the past eight months. Among these products are fruit and vegetables, milk and milk products, meat...", the announcement reads.

Therefore, as they state, in July 2022, KCCG had the option to purchase oil at a tender price of 2,85 euros without VAT from the only bidder whose offer was evaluated as correct, or not to purchase it at all, which would cause stoppage in the kitchen.

"According to official information from the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism, in July 2022, the retail price of oil was 2.46 euros. Therefore, it is not true that KCCG, as stated by some of the public, paid oil twice as expensive as the market price. It should be noted and that the tender and retail price are almost never the same, but that there are deviations precisely for the reason that at the time of making the offer, the bidder has to project the movement of prices in the following period of one year. This means that, if he gives a low price, he cannot increase it until the expiry of the validity period of the contract and in case it happens that in the meantime a certain product is procured at a price that is higher than the agreed price", they state.

Also, they add, it should be noted that the prices of oil that are now in retail stores cannot be taken as real prices, bearing in mind the fact that the campaign "Stop Inflation" is ongoing and that the stores have chosen certain products that they will sell at a lower price.

"If KCCG had terminated the contract at the moment when the price of oil was reduced in retail stores, in accordance with the current regulations, it would have had to compensate the supplier for damages, which would not have been economical, and on the other hand, it would have caused a halt in the supply of products that are of great importance for the daily work of the kitchen, because in that batch is not only oil, but a total of 59 products. It is a well-known fact that public procurement procedures take a long time due to prescribed deadlines, so any interruption in the supply of food products would have harmful consequences for patients and KCCG," they say from this institution.

They invited the public to investigate the purchase price of oil of all the customers in the tenders in 2022.

"With a simple look at CEJN, you will see that KCCG is not an isolated case, but that many customers procured oil at a price that is close to the price that KCCG pays for this product," concludes KCCG in a statement.