Deocracy Plus (D+) demands that the Municipality of Vushtrri cease its procurement activity for consulting services because it violates the Law and Regulation on Public Procurement. Contracting through this activity constitutes mismanagement of public funds.

In March 2024, the Municipality of Vushtrri initiated a tender to contract 40 consultants through procurement number VU644-24-1704-2-1-1, with an estimated value of €591,841.60. However, this is in contradiction with the Law on Public Procurement and Regulation no. 001/2022 on Public Procurement.
Specifically, Regulation Article 57.2 stipulates that consultants can only be contracted for services that cannot be secured through recruitment procedures according to the Law on Public Officials. In other words, services or positions that are not part of the regular structure.

However, the Municipality of Vushtrri plans to contract consultants in all lots for regular positions across various departments, including culture, procurement, legalization, education, spatial planning, agriculture, and more. The expected tasks for these consultants involve routine administrative duties, which are the responsibility of officials employed through regular recruitment procedures. These tasks include coordinating the activities of the Vushtrri Ensemble, organizing cultural events, procurement planning, assisting evaluation commission members, preparing medical reports, conducting examinations, collaborating with communities, assisting in document drafting, performing laboratory analyses, reviewing construction permit conditions, and evaluating requests for legalization permits.

Public Procurement Regulation Article 57.4 clarifies that a consultant refers to a specialized individual in a specific field engaged in an advisory role. In this activity, the municipality, on behalf of the consultants, is in the process of contracting individuals with minimal qualifications. For these positions, the municipality has required at least a high school or bachelor’s degree and one year of work experience. Moreover, some lots do not require any work experience at all.
To ensure responsible use of public funds and compliance with existing laws, this procedure should be canceled.

Disclaimer:

This reaction has been published with the financial support of the European Union and Smart Balkans. The contents of this reaction are the sole responsibility of Democracy Plus (D+) and do not represent the views of the European Union and SMART Balkans. The project “Encouraging transparent, accountable and efficient public money spending through public procurement in Kosovo”, is funded by the EU and SMART Balkans, and implemented by Democracy Plus (D+).