(Patria) - The Office for Combating Corruption of Sarajevo Canton has provided the public with Information regarding frequent media reports that the Register of Public Procurement Data of Sarajevo Canton lacks data on contracts, i.e., tenders for the procurement of trams, tram tracks, advertisements, etc., which were conducted by the Ministry of Transport of Sarajevo Canton and the Cantonal Public Utility Company City Transport Ltd. Sarajevo.
As they stated, they are providing the Information due to increasingly frequent media inquiries and public interest.
We are publishing the Office's Information in its entirety:
"The Office for Combating Corruption of Sarajevo Canton (hereinafter: the Office) acted on a report during 2022 concerning, among other things, 'the contract of the Ministry of Transport of Sarajevo Canton with a Chinese company, regarding the reconstruction of the tram track, and that the contract was not published in the Register of Public Procurement Data of Sarajevo Canton', which is described in detail in acts number: 20-04-21116/22 dated 11.07.2022 and 03.08.2022.
The Office addressed the Ministry of Transport with letter number: 20-04-19002-1/22 dated 06.05.2022, requesting compliance with the Decision on the Register of Public Procurement Data Conducted by Institutions Founded by Sarajevo Canton ('Official Gazette of Sarajevo Canton', number: 6/21) and Article 7, Paragraph 1, which stipulates: 'institutions from Article 2 of the Decision shall enter public procurement data in phases of the public procurement procedure into the Register, no later than 15 days from the completion of the public procurement procedure'. Even with act number: 20-04-19002-2/22 dated 18.05.2022, the Office reminded of the obligation to enter data into the aforementioned Register.
On 06.06.2022, the Ministry of Transport of Sarajevo Canton submitted Information number: 04-04-19002-2/22, which stated: 'Regarding the entry of data into the Register of Public Procurement Data, in accordance with the Decision on the Register of Public Procurement Data Conducted by Institutions Founded by Sarajevo Canton, which has been in effect since 2021, we emphasize that the procurement procedure 'Reconstruction of the Ilidža – Museum tram track' was initiated in 2019 and concluded with the signing of the contract in June 2021. During the procurement procedure, the Decision on the Public Procurement Database for Budget Users in Sarajevo Canton ('Official Gazette of Sarajevo Canton', number: 49/16) was in effect, which in Article 5, Paragraph 1, stipulated the obligation to enter data into the Public Procurement Database within 30 days of contract realization. Regardless of the above, and in order to eliminate any suspicion of potential corrupt practices, and in accordance with your request, the Ministry of Transport will proceed with entry into the Register of Public Procurement Data'.
The Information further stated: 'Regarding the basis on which the procurement was conducted, we emphasize that the Government of Sarajevo Canton at its 123rd session held on 26.04.2018 adopted the Conclusion on approving the capital project 'Reconstruction, renovation, and modernization of the tram track' in the total amount of 46,740,000.00 KM, and at its 126th session held on 17.05.2018, the Conclusion on approving the capital project 'Renewal of the rolling stock for public passenger transport' in the total amount of 53,000,000.00 KM. After the project was adopted, Sarajevo Canton sent a Letter of Intent for financing this project by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development – EBRD. It is foreseen that the project will consist of the two previously mentioned components/projects, with a total planned financing of 35,000,000.00 EUR'. It was then stated: 'After receiving confirmation from the EBRD that the project concept titled 'Public Urban Transport' was approved on 10.09.2018, Sarajevo Canton and EBRD signed a Mandate Letter for the project approval. In Article 2, point i. of the Mandate Letter, it was agreed that the procurement for the project components from Article 1 of the same will be conducted in accordance with EBRD's Procurement Policies and Procedures'.
Considering that in this specific case, it is an exemption from the application of the Public Procurement Law, in accordance with the provisions of Article 10, Paragraph 1, point c), which stipulates: 'A contract awarded in accordance with an international agreement that applies a special procedure for international, credit, and donor arrangements is exempt from the application of this law...', and by applying Article 18, Paragraph 2 of the Public Procurement Law, which stipulates that in case of exemption from the application of Article 10 of the Law, the contracting authority is obliged to adopt a Decision that, in addition to the basis for exemption, contains the basic elements (subject of public procurement, estimated value of public procurement, and data on the source of financing), the Ministry adopted Decision number: 04-14-31388/18 on 15.07.2019, exempting all procurement procedures within the 'Sarajevo Public Transport' project, which includes the reconstruction of the Ilidža – Museum tram track, from the application of the Public Procurement Law. Consequently, the basis for conducting the procurement in question is the Mandate Letter and Decision number: 04-14-31388/18 dated 15.07.2019, which we attach. Finally, it is noted that according to the Policies and Rules of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Confidentiality, point 3.10, documentation and information about bidders from point 3.10 are considered confidential and must not be disclosed except in cases a), b), and c). Violation of these rules would mean a breach of the signed agreements with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which would ultimately lead to detrimental consequences for Sarajevo Canton, as its signatory.
Furthermore, on 24.05.2022, the Ministry of Transport of Sarajevo Canton adopted Decision on initiating a public procurement procedure exempt from the application of the Public Procurement Law number: 04-11-10552/22 BT. This Decision exempts all procurement procedures within the Sub-project DTM.52520-GCF W2 – Sarajevo Public Transport E-Mobility from the application of the Public Procurement Law.
The estimated value of the procurement is 17,430,000.00 EUR, including:
Construction and equipping of the Traffic Management Center (TMC) and implementation of adaptive traffic management (ATMS),
Procurement of new trams,
Development of the conceptual design for the construction and equipping of the TMC and implementation of ATMS – Grant,
Technical assistance for procurement, supervision of works, and implementation of the adaptive traffic management project – Grant.
In accordance with Article 1 of the aforementioned Decision, the procedures will be conducted in accordance with the rules and policies of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and for this reason, the procedures conducted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development cannot be found in the Register of Public Procurement Data of Sarajevo Canton, as the Office for Combating Corruption is not competent to control these procedures.
The Public Procurement Agency of BiH was also informed about the activities carried out by the Office during 2022, and in terms of the correct interpretation of the Public Procurement Law ('Official Gazette of BiH', number: 39/14, 59/22, and 50/24) and the application of exemption provisions, the Office refers contracting authorities to the provisions of Article 92, Paragraph 3, point d).
Regarding the entry of public procurement procedures into the Register of Public Procurement Data, on 03.02.2026, the Office, by act number: 20-04-34170/26, reminded all institutions founded by Sarajevo Canton of the obligation to enter public procurement data, in accordance with Article 7 of the Decision on the Register of Public Procurement Data Conducted by Institutions Founded by Sarajevo Canton ('Official Gazette of Sarajevo Canton' number: 6/21 and 34/22).
In accordance with the Requests for official cooperation and mandatory assistance from the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton, the Office for Combating Corruption of Sarajevo Canton has provided available data by acts number: 20-04-5258-1/26 dated 17.02.2026, then number: 20-04-5817/26 dated 20.02.2026, and 20-04-5821/26 dated 20.02.2026.
Also, on 23.02.2026, an official phone call was made with the secretary of KJKP City Transport Ltd. Sarajevo regarding the media reports 'for advertisements on trams'. The information obtained by the Office through this call is that the procedure was conducted by the Ministry of Transport of Sarajevo Canton through a Public Call. In this regard, act number: 20-04-5517-1/26 dated 23.02.2026 was sent to the Ministry of Transport of Sarajevo Canton for the purpose of providing definitive information regarding the 'rental of old trams for advertisements', as well as the procurement of cameras, in terms of whether the procurement procedure was conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Law ('Official Gazette of BiH' number: 39/14, 59/22, and 50/24).
I am providing you with the foregoing for your information and wish to point out that approximately 15,000 public procurement procedures are conducted annually in Sarajevo Canton, of which the Office conducted 133 controls in the past year, and 179 controls in 2024, with currently one expert associate employed for collecting public procurement data, considering that we have successfully responded to every task so far."
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