Transparency International in BiH has submitted a complaint to the Public Procurement Agency of BiH for avoiding the implementation of a tender for the construction of tennis courts in Banja Luka, which are being built for the “Srpska Open” tournament. The funds for the construction of this complex, which, according to media reports, amount to over 20 million BAM, were provided by the City of Banja Luka and the Government of Republika Srpska, but the tender announcement was avoided by transferring the money in the form of a grant to the Tennis Association of RS.
Thus, the Tennis Association spent millions in public funds without any public bidding, selecting contractors under conditions and prices that are not transparent, although the Public Procurement Law must be applied to contracts that are subsidized with public money by more than 50%. In this case, almost all funds allocated for this project are public, and Article 7 of the Law stipulates that it also applies to contracts that the contracting authority directly subsidizes by more than 50%, if these contracts include works on facilities intended for sports.
Given that the City of Banja Luka allocated the majority of funds, it was obliged to ensure compliance with the provisions of this law in cases where the subsidized contract is awarded by another natural or legal person. In TI BiH’s opinion, the City of Banja Luka attempted to circumvent the direct application of the Law through the Tennis Association of Republika Srpska, overlooking the fact that these are subsidized contracts.
The recently published opinion of the Public Procurement Agency of BiH also confirms that the Law had to be applied.
-Article 7 of the Law defines subsidized contracts in such a way that in paragraph (1) it states that the provisions of this law also apply to contracts that the contracting authority directly subsidizes by more than 50% if: a) these contracts include works within the meaning of Annex I of this law b) these contracts include works on hospitals, facilities intended for sports, recreation and leisure, school and university buildings, and buildings used for administrative purposes. When we talk about works and services related to the mentioned works, the text of Article 7 of the Law is quite clear and it is obvious that the Law applies only in case the contracting authority subsidizes the mentioned procurements by more than 50%, states the Agency’s opinion.
Given that this project is financed almost entirely by public funds, it is evident that the Law had to be applied, so TI BiH requested the Public Procurement Agency to conduct monitoring of this procedure, request explanations from those responsible, and in case violations of the law are found, the Agency has the authority to initiate misdemeanor proceedings or submit reports to the competent prosecutor’s offices.
TI BiH believes that this is a very dangerous practice because if this practice becomes the rule, other contracting authorities could circumvent the application of the Public Procurement Law through various associations and foundations in this way.
It should certainly be reminded that in case of procurement that must be carried out urgently, there are legal possibilities for awarding contracts through expedited procedures.
President of the Tennis Association of RS reported for conflict of interest
Due to the same case, Transparency International in BiH has also submitted a complaint to the Commission for Deciding on Conflict of Interest of Bosnia and Herzegovina against the president of the Tennis Association of Republika Srpska, Draško Milinović, who is also the director of the Communications Regulatory Agency of BiH, which is considered an executive function according to the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest.
TI BiH reminds that holders of executive functions at the BiH level are explicitly prohibited by this law from performing duties of authorized persons in foundations and associations that are financed from the budget of any level of government in an amount greater than 10,000 BAM annually, or in an amount greater than 50,000 BAM annually in foundations and associations in the field of culture and sports.
Given that the Tennis Association of Republika Srpska received millions in funds from the entity and City of Banja Luka budget for this project, it is evident that the president of this association, Draško Milinović, is in a conflict of interest.
In addition to him, the current Minister of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, Siniša Karan, is listed as a member of the board of directors on the website of the Tennis Association of RS, and TI BiH reminds that the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest of Republika Srpska prohibits elected officials from being members of bodies of associations or foundations that are financed from the budget of the Republic or local self-government unit in a total annual amount exceeding 100,000 BAM.
TI BiH believes that it is an extremely bad practice for politics to control sports associations and federations that are financed by public money, especially when public officials are appointed to them who are legally prohibited from situations where they can use their functions to achieve personal interests.
