This database is comprised of public procurement contracts signed within very short deadline, without prior announcement of call for bids. This type of contracts is signed with justification that contracting authorities do not have time to organize tender procedures and must urgently award the contracts. In such cases, instead of publishing procurement notices for all companies to be aware of said procurements, institutions send negotiation invitations only to a number of companies they have previously selected. Moreover, this type of contracts is signed by means of negotiation procedure without prior announcement of call for bids, referring to the law provision whereby “in cases when, due to reasons of utter urgency caused by events that contracting authorities could not have anticipated and could not be attributed to them, the public procurement shall be organized without deadline”. The database is comprised of 1,165 urgent public procurement contracts in total value of 2.4 billion MKD, i.e. around 39 million EUR. It includes all contracts of this type signed in the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 by all institutions in the Republic of Macedonia.
The biggest contract for urgent procurement was signed in November 2014 by JSC Macedonian Power Plants with construction company PELISTER Bitola and concerned engagement of additional machinery for the needs of MEC Bitola, in the value of around 5.8 million EUR. JSC Macedonian Power Plants, in its notification on signed contracts (shown on the infographic), justified the signing of this contract without prior announcement of call for bids with financial exhaustion of the previous contract signed for engagement of machinery and with the fact that failure to sign this contract for engagement of machinery needed for rehabilitation of landslide “Suvodol” would have endangered safe operation of primary machinery.
The list of biggest contracts for urgent procurements includes two contracts of JSC Macedonian Power Plants signed in September and October 2013, respectively, each in the value of around 2.3 million EUR. Both contracts concerned engagement of construction machinery and were awarded to the same company – MARKOVSKI COMPANY Borce LLC import-export Bitola.
Furthermore, this list includes another contract signed by JSC Macedonian Power Plants with SILOVIE MACHINES Russia, intended for rehabilitation of cylinder defect in Block 1 at the thermal power plant within MEC Bitola, signed in December 2014.
Top 10 contracts for urgent procurements include as many as three contracts signed by the State Election Commission (SEC). The first contract dates from March 2013 and was signed with printing house “Kiro D. Dandaro” protective workshop Bitola for printing of confidential election materials (ballots, minutes, templates), non-confidential election materials, and packaging of materials systematized per municipality and per polling station. The contract concerned 2013 local elections and was signed in the amount of 1 million EUR. In its relevant notification on this contract, which is shown on the infographic with biggest contracts, SEC did not provide precise explanation of reasons why this institution did not have time to announce tender procedure, but had to opt for non-transparent procurement procedure on services related to printing of election materials.
Next two contracts signed by SEC were related to 2014 elections. The contract in higher value concerned transport of election board members for organization of balloting abroad, signed with BT Macedonia LLP Skopje, in the value of 766 thousand EUR. The other contract signed by SEC concerned printing of ballots and other election materials, again with the printing house “Kiro D. Dandaro” protective workshop Bitola, in the value of around 610 thousand EUR.
The list of 10 biggest contracts for urgent procurements also includes contracts signed by PE State Roads, Municipality of Novaci and Macedonian Railways Transport JSC – Skopje. PE State Roads signed urgent procurement contract with GRANIT JSC Skopje for rehabilitation of landslide along regional road P1205 section Kratovo – Probistip, in the value of 921 thousand EUR. Urgency of this contract, as enlisted in the notification on contract signed (shown on the infographic below), concerned occurrence of deformities, i.e. vertical dents on the highway and side-line openings. The list of biggest contracts includes the one signed by Municipality of Novaci with TRANSMET LLP Skopje in September 2015 for engagement of construction machinery to clean the basin of Crna Reka along municipalities Novaci, Bitola, Mogila and Prilep. Justification offered for this urgent procurement indicates that it is in compliance with the Action Plan of the Government and the Directorate on Protection and Rescue and that anticipated deadline of 45 days was short for organization of tender procedure. Tenth position on the list is reserved for the contract of Macedonian Railways Transport JSC – Skopje, signed in September 2015 with FUTURE ENERGY import-export LLC Skopje for procurement of electricity in the value of around 580 thousand EUR. The notification for this contract does not include more detailed explanation why MR Transport could not announce regular procurement notice.
This list is led by JSC Macedonian Power Plants which, in the last three years, has signed 91 contracts for urgent procurements in total value of 15 million EUR, accounting for 38% of the total amount of funds spent on this type of contracts at the level of Republic of Macedonia. Second-ranked is the State Election Commission which, in the last three years, has signed 66 contracts for urgent procurements in total value of 3.8 million EUR. Third position is held by the Ministry of Defence, i.e. its sector on logistic, with 55 contracts for urgent procurements in total value of 2.7 million EUR. Top 10 institutions with highest value contracts for urgent procurements include two clinics, i.e. PHI University Clinic of Radiotherapy and Oncology and PHI Clinic of Haematology, two municipalities – Ohrid and Novaci, and three public enterprises: PE State Roads, PE Water Supply and Sewage – Skopje and MR Transport JSC – Skopje.
Companies awarded a number of contracts for urgent procurements by JSC Macedonian open the list of suppliers with highest value of contracts of this type. At the top is the Bitola-based company PELISTER, which has signed only two urgent procurements, but in total value of around 6 million EUR. Next is another Bitola-based company – MARKOVSKI COMPANY Borce LLC import-export, which has also signed only two contracts, but in the value of 4.6 million EUR. Third-ranked according to the value of contracts for urgent procurements is one company with as many as 27 contracts of this type – JSC Production of Medicines, Medical Equipment, Trade and Services “D-R Panovski”.
Analysed per year, total value of contracts for urgent procurements have peaked in 2014 and their amount is the lowest in 2015. In May 2015, legal obligation was introduced for institutions whereby in order to sign this type of contracts they have to seek previous approval from the newly established Council of Public Procurements. Hence, reasons for the decreased value of these contracts in 2015 could be attributed to the need for institutions to provide detailed explanation about their urgent procurement needs and signing of this type of contracts without prior announcement of call for bids.