The coalition does not want Metro in the metro because of Babiš
According to the Prague group, which the transport company is responsible for through the supervisory board, the contract cannot be “knocked” by a periodical from the media group Mafra due to its connection with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) via the Agrofert holding. Opposition deputies call YES coalition intervention politicized and out of place.
No conflict of interest
The mayor’s deputy, Adam Scheinherr (Prague himself), from the position of head of the supervisory board, instructed the transport company on the condition that each bidder for the said contract must add in the application that there is no conflict of interest. The selection committee and the board of directors of the city’s “joint-stock company” are then to assess its veracity.
“We cannot interfere in the course of the public contract, we must not know or know the details of its course. In general, however, I can say that its results should be available in a matter of weeks. The veracity of all candidates’ statements that they will not be subject to a conflict of interest, “Scheinherr.
And the chairman of his representative club, Jan Čižinský, added the reasons why Prague bases itself so much on controlling the tender. “If a representative of Prague did business with the capital through his company, it would be a sky-high scandal. It is equally scandalous that he lubricates Andrej Babiš’s pocket in a trade with the state through Agrofert. It may not matter elsewhere, but it will not work in Prague, “said Čižinský.
“As a 100% owner, we clearly expressed this opinion to the transport company and demanded that the company fully respect the processing of the order,” added Čižinský.
The Metro daily distributed free to passengers has had leased distribution space in the Prague metro for the last thirteen years. The publisher’s costs are offset by advertising revenue.
According to the head of communication of the transport company Dan Šabík, the city company, regardless of the current case of contracts, requires the submission of a solemn declaration of suppliers on the absence of a conflict of interest.
“In accordance with the requirements of the Public Procurement Act, the transport company also ascertains the data on the actual owners of the winning supplier by looking at the register of actual owners,” Šabík specified.
The city thus de facto the transport company before the task of proving the prime minister’s conflict of interests and thus the ineligibility of “his” companies to participate in public procurement. In a press release, Prague refers to the verdict of the auditors of the Ministry of Finance, while informing the iRozhlas server.
Nacher: They politicize the tender
Last year’s audit examined the Karlovy Vary branch of the Labor Office, which paid Mafra 10,000 crowns for advertising promoting a European Union project to support people with disabilities. “The direct purchase of advertising services from the given supplier violated the Conflict of Interest Act,” the auditors stated.
The Prague opposition representative for YES and at the same time MP Patrik Nacher draw attention to the fact that, unlike auditors defending the interests of the EU, no Czech court has yet proven Babiš’s conflict of interest, or his directly to trust funds.
“This coalition has repeatedly shown that words of transparency were mere pre-election rhetoric. Directors without a tender were appointed to head the largest city companies. And now they are politicizing the tender, the winner of which should normally succeed with the best offer within the law, “he pointed out. Neither Mafra nor the Prime Minister’s Office responded to the political intervention in the tender of the transport company until the deadline.