Child poisoning in Gramsh, DP: Company convicted of corruption continues and still wins tenders

The Democratic Party has reacted to the stance of the Mayor of Gramsh, Besion Ajazi, regarding the scandal of poisoning children in a state kindergarten with salmonella.

In a statement to the media, the spokesperson for Anti-Corruption in the Democratic Party, Genta Vangjeli, accused Ajaz of deliberately concealing the truth and involvement in a scheme of suspected serious violations of the public procurement law.

According to her, although Ajazi claims that he does not know the tender contractor and does not know the value of the contract, official documents prove the opposite: the winning firm is the company "Nelsa shpk", the same one involved in a final court decision for corruption in 2018.

DECLARATION:

When journalists asked him about the contractor who was implementing the contract regarding the phenomenon of children being infected with salmonella bacteria in Gramsh, the mayor of this municipality, among other things, said that ... he had no idea what the name was, but it was a company that emerged as the winner of the procurement procedure ... the mayor could not have known how much the tender was worth ... and that some parent was taking advantage of his child's case to do politics ....

The truth is that in accordance with Article 73 of the Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 281/2021 as amended for the approval of the PP rules, in the capacity of the head of the CA, the Mayor knows well the value of the tender because he has signed the Procurement Order, approves the summary report of the procurement procedure and the addressing of issues or problems that may arise from this report, he knows well who the contractor is because there is a contract signed for this purpose on December 12, 2023 between the Municipality of Gramsh and the contractor 'Nelsa shpk' with the object of Purchasing food goods to meet the needs of nurseries, kindergartens and the high school dormitory with a term of 24 months.

We recall that in 2018, a similar tender for the purchase of food was the cause of a final conviction by the Court of Appeal for Serious Crimes, for corruption in tenders conducted by the General Directorate of Prisons for the former prison directorate and other businessmen, including the company Nelsa shpk, which at that time was owned by the father of the woman who holds the current ownership.

Although subject to punishment by the court, according to spending data, it is proven that the contracting authorities have qualified and concluded contracts with this operator in violation of the public procurement law, article on mandatory criteria for disqualification, point 1/b (PPL No. 9643, dated 20.11.2006, amended article 45, point 1/b, and current PPL No. 162, dated 23.12.2020, amended, article 76, point 1/b).

According to opencorporates.al, this operator has registered 8.5 million euros in public contracts, including the period after the final court sentence.

Reminding Mayor Besion Ajazi that he holds managerial responsibilities including the use of public funds according to articles 8 and 9 of Law No. 10296, DATED 8.7.2010, 'On Financial Management and Control' as amended, we appeal to law enforcement bodies to identify and penalize those specifically responsible for this event.

Children cannot be insecure... Albanians cannot be insecure about the irresponsibility of the state.