Piše: Andrej Lokar
To start with, here is a brief and somewhat impersonal chronology: On November 10th, 2022, the Public Agency for Books announced the results of the competition to “solve” the issue of the pavilion and stand at Slovenia’s honorary guest appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2023. The winning proposal was submitted by Studio Sadar. The first “unusual aspect” is that the call for submissions was not published on the website of the Public Agency for Books (JAK) but only on the Public Procurement Portal and in the European Electronic Tenders Daily (TED).
The second “unusual aspect” was that the waiting period for the tender to implement the “solution” was unusually long. It was only published on June 8th, 2023 – once again, not on the website of the JAK, but only on the Public Procurement Portal and the aforementioned TED. The scope of the tender included the construction, transport, installation of the pavilion and stand, as well as dismantling and removal. The third “unusual aspect” was the very short duration of the tender, which was open only until July 7th, 2023, with the winning bidder expected to start work on August 1st, 2023. Additionally, the winner was required to obtain permission from the Frankfurt Book Fair for the execution of the project. The results of the tender by the JAK were announced on July 12th, 2023, and the fourth “unusual aspect” was that only one bid was received, which was rejected. JAK stated that the offer was too high (€1,223,599) compared to the available funds (€780,000), and no guarantee was provided. As the deadline for filing a request for review was 8 days, it was not possible to immediately announce a repeated tender.
The most attention is naturally drawn to one of the companies listed as a collaborator with the mentioned bidder: a company established in Hong Kong in 2019, which is registered in a notorious tax haven. The company Event 4 All has worked with several Slovenian companies, such as the Agency Freshlab from Ljubljana. In this regard (fifth “unusual aspect”), it is certainly striking that the documentation was available only in Slovenian, which was also used by the JAK in communication with foreign partners. Furthermore, this is the sixth “unusual aspect” as some of the tender documents were in English, including a significant part of the pavilion plan.
With the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair just around 100 days away, the rejection of the bid could be critical due to the limited time remaining and the complexity of the project, as well as the size of the space. However, this raises several other questions: What exactly does the non-publication (concealment?) of the tender on the Public Agency for Books’ website mean, if it does not increase costs for the contracting authority? The main goal of the tender should be to encourage greater participation and competition among bidders. Is it possible that a pre-selected contractor or even a group has already been chosen, monopolising the second tender?
The answers to these questions will be revealed with the publication of the new (repeated) tender, and the Slovenian public should be particularly attentive to the amount of funding and the insurance requirements. Two important aspects to consider are whether the contracting authority will accommodate the selected bidder and whether any annexes will be added by the Ministry of Culture. The delay in publishing the tender until the last moment is highly significant, as this may result in higher costs due to the tight deadlines (and potentially greater opportunities for commissions). Furthermore, the question of a potential audit should also be considered, as the mere filing of a request for a revision could significantly slow down the project implementation. The day of the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair is fast approaching, and all these factors need to be carefully considered.
Therefore, the Slovenian public (and, of course, the relevant authorities) must closely monitor what will happen with the new tender, intentionally published during the holiday period.
In summary, one of the most crucial questions that arise is who is responsible for the risky management of perhaps the most significant project in the history of Slovenian culture, especially regarding potential price increases likely to occur due to the tight implementation deadlines, which will be evident in the price difference between the first and repeated tender. When she took office, Minister Vrečko abruptly dismissed the former director of the Public Agency for Books, claiming that he “no longer enjoys her trust”. Now, the Slovenian public can witness, due to this negligence (but is it really just negligence?), the kind of personnel who completely enjoy her trust. In fact, it is nothing more than the usual mixture of tested restaurant alliances between non-transparency and negative selection, and everything suggests that this is precisely the substantive core of the “systemic” solutions so vehemently announced by the new Minister of Culture.
Source: KUD Kdo