Public procurement: promise - does not mean to pay?
Kostanai company can’t return 52 million tenge due under the agreement on public procurement through the court. Because of loopholes in the law, experts the Chamber of entrepreneurs believe that other businessmen can suffer
The problematic situation was discussed at the Council for the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs. It began in January last year, when the company "Promtroyskomplekt" won the tender for the project on the reconstruction of a leisure center in the residential area "Drizhba". Total amount of the project was 14 million tenge. The company has completed the work, but the money was never received. Akimat referred to the sequestering of the budget.
In September 2015 the first company won another tender, this time on the project for the construction of utilities for the industrial zone in Kostanai. The sum - 105 million tenge. The set to work and ... the situation repeated again - the budget was cut, and the state order was terminated again.
As a result, the city administration owes us 52 million tenge. The businessman appealed to the court, but it did not save. As it turned out, the company has worked legally for "thank you". According to the law on public procurement, the customer was obliged to register the contract at the Treasury within five working days after the conclusion. However, the construction department did not allow to do that. To the reasonable question of the Council the representative of Akimat answered frankly: "We got information that the money will be sequestrated".
"So you have already known about this, and, roughly speaking, you cheated me ?! I am not a "bloodthirsty", I do not want to punish someone. But the result is important to me. Give me back the money I earned, and the more I do not want anything. After all, people were working on, wasting their time and forces", - said the head of LLP "Promtroyskomplekt " Alexander Kogan.
The issue was raised for broad discussion not by chance. The Administrative Code does not provide liability for the late registration of contracts and, therefore, such a situation may be repeated again and again. That is why the Council recommended to the Chamber through NCE RK "Atameken" to initiate amendment to Article 207 of the Administrative Code of Kazakhstan. Representatives of the Civil Service Department promised to fill the gap, through its Office.
"We will analyze the issue on the subject of corruption risks, develop and send recommendations to state agencies to follow the terms of registration", - said the head of department Askhat Iskendirov.
Whether the violation of workers of Akimat will be unpunished, it is an open question. The employee responsible for the registration of contracts doesn’t work there anymore. Nevertheless, the Council recommended to the Chamber to apply to law enforcement authorities with a request for an inspection for the presence of a criminal offense in the actions of officials. The Chamber will continue to provide legal support to the company. After all, the company still has not received even two million tenge that was put as security for the execution of the order. This is the only money that the court decided to return to the entrepreneur.
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