FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The judge of the Special Court, Erion Bani, who presided over the sessions of determining the security measure and the questioning of the former Minister of Health, Ilir Beqaj regarding the public private partnership contract for sterilization, highlights problems not addressed by SPAK prosecutors , estimating that an additional charge should have been filed against the former minister, accompanied by the security measure "prison arrest".
In the 303-page decision for Beqaj's questioning session on November 20, it is established that the concession contract was not concluded based on legal procedures and it is reasoned that former minister Beqaj violated the law during the contract negotiation process, increasing the damages for the state and favors for private companies.
The clash between judge Bani and SPAK prosecutors over the role of former minister Beqja in the problematic sterilization concession is not the first time. In August of this year, Beqaj's name was missing from the requests for security measures by prosecutors Edvin Kondili and Ened Nakuçi, while Bani estimated that there was enough evidence to charge him with abuse of office.
In the questioning session of November 20, 2023, Beqaj was reserved to give explanations, but through a status published on Facebook, he called the accusations unfounded and expressed the belief that his name will "finally be cleared of the accusations".
According to the court, after the additional investigations carried out by the prosecution by administering the expert reports on the telephones of the persons under investigation, it is believed that Beqaj was aware of all the procedures and documentation administered by the Concession Commission. Bani goes further in his reasoning, assessing that there is a reasonable suspicion that Beqaj has the quality of organizer in this suspected criminal activity for granting the sterilization concession to the predetermined winner.
Based on these circumstances, the court considers that Beqaj should be prosecuted not only for "abuse of duty" in collaboration, but also for the criminal offense of "forgery of seals, stamps and forms" by the person who is tasked with drafting them, provided for by Article 190 , the third paragraph, of the Criminal Code, which provides for imprisonment from three to 7 years.
This accusation stems from the change that the public private partnership contract underwent during the negotiation phase, where according to judge Bani, the maximum value of budget support was removed and the public sector was charged with the costs of electricity and water in favor of private companies. According to him, the procedure selected by the Ministry of Health, opened with contract negotiation, as well as the negotiation of the contract with the winning economic operator led by Servizi Italia spa, has been made in "open and flagrant" contradiction with the legal and by-laws .
He argues that there should have been no negotiation regarding the terms of the contract, but the winner should have entered into the contract immediately after the publication of the winner's notice, as the criteria presented in the bid constitute non-negotiable conditions and cannot be changed in any case.
Next, the court notes that during the negotiations the maximum value of the financial support in the amount of 9 billion and 657 million ALL without VAT, calculated as a payment of 10 years together, was removed, changing one of the essential conditions of the contract, from the price determined in undefined.
The decision states that in order to do such a thing, prior approval from the Ministry of Finance had to be requested. "Changes to the essential conditions of the contract, which are not foreseen in the tender documentation, require the implementation of a new procedure for awarding the concession contract. "Also, the negotiation of the contract in favor of the concessionaire has brought economic damage to the state budget," it is quoted in the decision.
The Concession Granting Commission is accused in the decision of having negotiated the contract in favor of the concessionaire and to the detriment of the state budget, for the amount of 505 million ALL. It is evident that during the negotiation of the contract, this value was reduced to the winning concessionaire company from what it had offered during the competition and that its preliminary offer was made only to get the maximum points in the competition. "So, in this particular case, not only should negotiations not take place at all, but even if they were allowed, they cannot be done contrary to the offer given by the winner himself", says Bani.
In the business plan submitted by the winner with the documents that were used in the initial competition by the concessionaire, expenses for electricity and thermal energy, water, as well as other expenses that would be offered by the winner are foreseen. However, the concession contract provides that "in the Back-up centers, except for the Back-up center at QSUT, the Authority provides the Concessionaire with electricity, water, steam, civil works, plants, etc., with expenses charged to the Authority".
This provision is estimated to have been made contrary to all the documents of the procedure, as they were determined to be provided by the concessionaire. According to the court, the Ministry of Health negotiated the contract in favor of the concessionaire and to the detriment of the state budget in the amount of 58.8 million ALL.
Po ashtu, nga kontrata rezulton të jenë hequr asete që parashikoheshin në dokumentacionin e operatorit fitues, me vlerë totale 89.4 milionë lekë, shumë me të cilën dhe në këtë rast është favorizuar konsecionari e dëmtuar buxheti shtetit.
Konstatimet e gjykatës shkojnë më tej, duke evidentuar se kontrata ka disa ndryshime nga ato ҫfarë janë parashikuar në Dokumentet Standarde të Koncesionit dhe ofertën fituese, edhe pas negocimit, duke sjellë kundërshti mes ndryshimeve që janë bërë gjatë negocimit me vetë kontratën e negociuar.
Ndërkohë, kontrata e koncesionit rezulton të jetë nënshkruar vetëm nga Beqaj në cilësinë e titullarit të institucionit dhe shoqëria Saniservice sh.p.k., ndërkohë që duhej të ishte firmosur nga të gjithë anëtarët e bashkimit të operatorëve ekonomikë që kanë garuar e janë shpallur fitues.
Në vijim, Bani arsyeton se nga analiza e kuadrit ligjor, arrihet në përfundimin se koncesionari duhet të kryejë investimet dhe si rezultat i tyre të përfitojë të ardhura nga vënia në përdorim e produktit të krijuar. Sipas tij, një nga elementët thelbësor të kontratave koncesionare është transferimi i riskut tek koncesionari dhe jo tek autoriteti publik – ndërsa në rastet e partneritetit publik provat ndahet midis koncesionarit dhe autoritetit publik.
Për rrjedhojë, gjykata çmon se në kontratën e konciesionit të sterilizimit, mungon një nga elementët thelbësor të kontratave koncesionare, që është transferimi i riskut tek koncesionari.
Nga aktet e hetimit ka rezultuar se është Ministria e Shëndetësisë që i ka vënë në dispozicion koncesionarit ambientet e spitaleve, ujin, dritat dhe në QSUT një qendër moderne sterilizimi me pajisje të pavendosura në punë.
“Pra, në rastin konkret, koncesionari ka marrë pagesa të rregullta nga spitalet publike për sete kirurgjikale, duke i garantuar kështu një fitim të sigurt këtij të fundit (koncesionarit) nëpërmjet blerjes së seteve kirurgjikale të sterilizuara,” thuhet në vendimin për masën e sigurisë.
Gjyqtari Bani çmon kjo kontratë koncesionare nuk është gjë tjetër veçse një mbulim i një kontrate prokurimi me afat të gjatë për të monopolizuar shërbimin për dhjetë vitet e ardhshme.
“Gjykata krijon bindjen se në rastin konkret është përzgjedhur për një procedurë prokurimi publik të zakonshme (de facto), një procedurë koncesionare (de jure), për t'i mundësuar fituesit të paracaktuar një kontratë me afat të gjatë dhe me një vlerë të konsiderueshme, duke monopolizuar kështu shitjen e mallrave dhe shërbimeve vetëm nga një operator ekonomik, për një kohë të gjatë konkretisht nga miqtë dhe shokët e personave në hetim I.B.(ilir Beqaj) dhe K. R.(ish-zv.ministri Klodian Rrjepaj), të cilët kanë qenë të përfshirë në përgatitjen e dokumentacionit që në vitin 2013 deri në shpalljen fitues të tyre”, citohet ndër të tjera në vendim
Bazuar në këtë arsyetim, gjykata vlerëson se Beqaj ka konsumuar edhe elementët e veprës “Falsifikimi i vulave, stampave dhe formularëve”, përveç “shpërdorimit të detyrës”.
Based on the fact that these criminal offenses are punishable by up to 7 years of imprisonment, it is estimated that the appropriate measure should have been "imprisonment" and not those of the obligation to appear and the prohibition of exiting the territory of the country.
According to the court, there is reasonable doubt that ex-minister Ilir Beqaj intentionally caused damage to the state budget in the amount of 8.6 billion lek. "This is the consequence assuming that the value of the contract would be as much as was originally announced at the beginning of the procedure, since during the development of the procedure the value of the contract changed from the total value to the amount of 9,657,000,000 (without VAT) in a indicative value, where it is not known what the cost of the concession will be at the end of the 10-year term," argues the judge, while adding that the consequences are not only economic, but also related to the quality of the vital service, such as the sterilization of operating theaters, which is related directly with the health of patients.
Bani emphasizes that the legal definition of the criminal fact made by the prosecutor and brought for assessment before the preliminary investigation judge is wrong. Meanwhile, he clarifies that in the conditions where the legislation does not allow the judge to set a personal security measure heavier than the one requested by the prosecutor, he is obliged to approve the measures requested by the prosecution.
Ilir Beqaj was elected Minister of Health in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Edi Rama and during his leadership in the years 2013-2017, three concession contracts worth tens of millions of euros were signed for health system services./ BIRN
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