Bosnia Blows Millions of Euros on Official Limos

Bosnian state institutions and companies last year launched tenders for official vehicles worth more than 93 million Bosnian marks – equal to about 46 million euros.

The total value of the tenders actually completed in 2018 was over 19 million euros and bought some 926 vehicles, data from the BIRN BiH database indicate.

This amount includes all vehicles procured last year, including trucks, ambulances and police cars.

Just over 10.6 million KM – 5 million euros – was spent on purchasing 329 official limousines whose price averaged 32,000 KM, about 16,000 euros.

The Medical Faculty in Mostar, in southwest Bosnia, bought the most expensive passenger car. Purchased from the MRM Company from Ljubuski, it cost close to 100,000 KM, including tax. The faculty director, Milanko Bevanda, did not respond to BIRN’s inquiry concerning this procurement by the time of publication.

Mostar University and its members launched eight tenders worth more than 420,000 KM during 2018.

The MRM Company won two of those tenders as the only bidder. The same company won most tenders in Bosnia during 2018, and earned 5.3 million KM through 25 tenders.

MRM from Ljubuski was the only bidder in as many as 96 per cent of the open tenders, or lots, that it won during 2018. There was only one bidder in 87 per cent of all the tenders completed in 2018.

Besides MRM, the biggest tenders were won by Lada Auto Banja Luka (2.6 million KM), Porsche BH Sarajevo (2.1 million KM), Guma M Mostar (1.9 million KM) and Autokomerc V.S. Banja Luka (1.6 million KM).

Only Porsche BH answered BIRN BiH’s queries by the time of publication saying that the company fully complied with procurement legislation and honoured strict internal policies.

Skoda Superb is one of the most frequently bought vehicles by Bosnian politicians. The District Heating Company from Doboj bought one last year for just over 45,000 euros – including tax, the second most expensive passenger car bought last year.

The director of District Heating, Sladjan Jovic, did not respond fully to BIRN BiH’s inquiry about why such an expensive vehicle was bought, who would use it, or whether they could have purchased a cheaper vehicle.

He did say, however: “The vehicle will be used as an official vehicle for the needs of the Company in accordance with the Company Work Plan and other programming and planning documents of the Company.”

BIRN BiH noted nearly 100 tenders, which make up almost 15 percent of all tenders, for providing detailed vehicle specifications or precise dimensions or features of a certain vehicle, which Public Procurement Law in Bosnia prohibits.

The procurement of 66 ambulances also started last year, while tenders for 28 of them were completed.

Just over a million euros was spent purchasing those vehicles, which was only a fifth of the total sum spent on passenger vehicles.

Used ambulances were bought through three tender procedures.

Officials sought the purchase of even fewer fire trucks – only 35. Some 6.2 million KM – about 3.1 million euros – was spent on buying 161 police vehicles last year.

The total of purchased police vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances was fewer than passenger cars, and their total price was also smaller than the total price of the passenger vehicles.