By: Vida Kocjan
Minister Emilija Stojmenova Duh spent 6.5 million euros of taxpayers’ money on 13,000 computers that apparently no one wants or needs, and nobody knows where they are. Similarly, Dominika Švarc Pipan, the Minister of Justice, also spent 6 million euros on a similar endeavour.
In the autumn of 2023, the Minister for Digital Transformation, Emilija Stojmenova Duh (Gibanje Svoboda party), conducted a public procurement for 13,000 laptops. She spent 6.5 million euros from the state budget for them, citing the basis for this as an amendment to the law on promoting digital inclusion. So far, only 39 computers have been distributed, and the whereabouts of the remaining ones are undisclosed, allegedly for security reasons. However, during a press conference last week, she stated that they pay 2,500 euros monthly for storage. As doubts also arise about whether the paid computers were even delivered, we submitted a request to the ministry, based on the Access to Public Information Act, to provide the contract with the seller.
Stojmenova Duh in a dilemma
As journalists and members of the SDS party began to investigate the story through inquiries and written parliamentary questions, strong shadows of doubt have surrounded the case from the very beginning, regarding the non-transparent and imprudent spending of taxpayer money. With each answer, Minister Stojmenova Duh seems to be getting more entangled in the matter. Throughout all this, the most significant aspect is the silence of Prime Minister Robert Golob, who, as of the conclusion of our editorial process, has not commented on the case. This is a sum that could have been used to build a kindergarten, a smaller school, or a senior citizens’ home.
Initially, she claimed that the computers were intended for kindergartens and schools
In October 2023, the Ministry of Digital Transformation responded to an inquiry from the portal preiskovalno.si, stating that the computers were intended for equipping kindergartens and primary schools. However, the Ministry of Education had no knowledge of the matter. A few days later, Vinko Logaj, the director of the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Education, also made a statement to the same portal about the purchase of computers for kindergartens and schools. He said that he had never discussed new computers for schools and kindergartens with the minister. Logaj stated, “I heard about this equipment procurement today for the first time.”
On November 20th, 2023, Minister Stojmenova Duh, in response to a written parliamentary question from Alenka Helbl (SDS) regarding the purchase of computer equipment for schools and kindergartens, again asserted that kindergartens and schools would receive the computers, “in accordance with the legislation and identified needs,” as communicated by the Ministry of Education. In the request for clarification, she added that the Ministry of Digital Transformation had no legal basis for distributing equipment to educational institutions. Meanwhile, her ministerial colleague Darjo Felda responded to a written parliamentary question from Alenka Helbl on November 27th, 2023, explaining that the last major deliveries of computers to institutions were carried out in 2021, funded by the European ReactEU programme. Felda clarified that in 2022, a limited number of computers were provided, primarily for the renewal of outdated equipment. The same was true in 2023.
The Ministry of Education was not aware of the tender and order, and it became involved in Emilija Stojmenova Duh’s story only after the scandal became public. This is evident from the government’s response to a written parliamentary question from Tomaž Lisec (SDS) regarding the purchase of computers. On December 12th, 2023, the government informed Lisec that the Ministry of Education was requested “to assess the needs for such equipment in the field”. This indicates that no one had expressed a need for new computer equipment for educational institutions before.
Jobs on one side, Minister on the other
While in October 2023, the departments of the Ministry of Digital Transformation explained that the computers were intended for equipping kindergartens and primary schools, Minister Stojmenova Duh claimed that the computers were intended for socially disadvantaged children. The preiskovalno.si portal reported that before the announcement of the tender, there was an agreement within the government for the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities, Luka Mesec, to prepare priority groups for receiving laptops, but he did not do so. The minister then involved the Ministry of Education in the story.
In the second half of November 2023, 13,000 computers were supposed to arrive at the warehouse of the Ministry of Digital Transformation. This time, Stojmenova Duh pointed the finger at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities. However, Mesec’s office blamed the Public Scholarship, Development, Disability, and Maintenance Fund of the Republic of Slovenia. The fund told the preiskovalno.si portal that they need a legal basis to create a list of recipients, and this is still in the preparation phase at the Ministry of Digital Transformation. So, it is on Stojmenova Duh’s end.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation then included the August floods in the story, placing an article in the law on emergency measures to mitigate the consequences of floods and landslides from August 2023, stating that computers would be distributed to those affected by the floods. However, incredible things are happening here too. In response to a written parliamentary question from Tomaž Lisec, the government admitted that they distributed only 39 laptops based on this. Minister Emilija Stojmenova Duh confirmed this in her response to a written parliamentary question from Jelka Godec (SDS) regarding aid to citizens affected by floods and landslides, and she reiterated this last week. Questions and answers from Demokracija are published separately.
Doubts about the quality of computers
Amidst all this, doubts have arisen about the appropriate quality of the purchased laptops. The preiskovalno.si portal revealed that these are 13,000 average, if not lower quality, and more affordable laptops, unsuitable for serious work. The processors are older, and the graphics cards are inferior.
Based on this, the parliamentary group of the SDS demands an extraordinary session of two committees: the Committee on Internal Affairs, Public Administration, and Local Self-Government, and the Committee on Education, Science, and Youth. They argue that the request for a joint urgent session is more than justified, as it is time for Minister Stojmenova Duh to stop with contradictory and misleading explanations and excuses regarding the opaque and imprudent purchase.
They bought 13,000 computers, distributed only 39 – further purchases expected
We sent Minister for Digital Transformation Emilija Stojmenova Duh a few questions. Below are the questions and answers.
Where are the computers worth 6.5 million euros that you purchased stored?
The computers are safely stored in Slovenia. We cannot share more specific locations for security reasons.
How many computers have you distributed and to whom?
In accordance with Article 123 of the Law on emergency measures to mitigate the consequences of floods and landslides from August 2023 (ZIUOPZP), we have distributed 39 laptops to municipalities affected by floods that have demonstrated a need for them. There are eight municipalities, namely the City Municipality of Ljubljana, the Municipality of Cerklje na Gorenjskem, the Municipality of Črna na Koroškem, the Municipality of Komenda, the Municipality of Medvode, the Municipality of Mengeš, the Municipality of Ravne na Koroškem, and the Municipality of Štore.
How do you comment on doubts about the suitable quality of the purchased laptops? What guarantees their quality? Please provide a photocopy of the expert opinion.
The purchased laptops are of sufficient quality for both beginners and more experienced users. The Directorate responsible for ordering equipment for employees in public administration has extensive experience in ordering laptops suitable for the daily work of more than 15,000 users, and employs experts trained to assess their suitability. Public administration employees use laptops with older processors.
Note: We have not received photocopies of the expert opinion.
What guided you in purchasing 13,000 computers?
The purchase of computers is a legal obligation, clearly defined in Article 23a of the Law on the Promotion of Digital Inclusion (ZSDV).
In accordance with Article 23a of the ZSDV, the Republic of Slovenia ensures the right to borrow computer equipment to citizens of the Republic of Slovenia with permanent residence in the Republic of Slovenia, foreigners who have a residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia, and persons granted international protection, as well as their family members who, based on the right to family reunification, have obtained a residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia and have registered permanent or temporary residence in the Republic of Slovenia, in the following priority order:
- Beneficiaries of financial social assistance, care allowance, or extraordinary financial social assistance under the law regulating social security benefits, beneficiaries of child allowance up to and including the 6th income class under the law regulating parental care and family benefits, and the law regulating the exercise of rights from public funds, beneficiaries of state scholarships under the law regulating scholarships, and the law regulating the exercise of rights from public funds.
- Children with special needs under the law regulating the education of children with special needs.
- Persons with disabled status under the law regulating the social inclusion of disabled persons, and category I disability under pension and disability insurance regulations, who do not have the right to a pension.
- Retirees receiving a pension lower than the guaranteed pension under the third paragraph of Article 39 of the Pension and Disability Insurance Act (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 48/22 – officially consolidated text).
The ZSDV in the fourth paragraph of Article 23a also stipulates that the mechanism is established at the Public Scholarship, Development, Disability, and Maintenance Fund (JŠRIPS), namely by January 1st, 2024 (Article 16 of the Law Amending the Law on the Promotion of Digital Inclusion), and the funds for the implementation of the mechanism are provided in the financial plan of the Ministry of Digital Transformation (MDP), in accordance with the fifth paragraph of Article 23a of the ZSDV.
In accordance with the above, the MDP is obliged to provide funds for the operation of the equipment lending mechanism, and JŠRIPS is responsible for the distribution of the equipment. The mechanism had to be established by January 1st, 2024. This means that equipment purchases had to be made by the end of 2023. Despite the high demand for equipment borrowing (there are about half a million eligible users), we were compelled to procure only 13,000 computers due to limited funds. In the coming years, we will try to secure additional funds based on financial possibilities.
Dominika Švarc Pipan is also a great problem for the government
The issue or scandal that has been shaking the government of Robert Golob lately is not only related to Emilija Stojmenova Duh and “her” invisible computers. A special affair has also been caused by Dominika Švarc Pipan, the Minister of Justice. She managed to have the government, on a correspondence session on December 28th, 2023, adopt a decision to include the purchase of a building for the needs of the judiciary on Litijska Street 51 in Ljubljana, worth 7.7 million euros. Švarc Pipan promptly signed a contract with the seller, a company owned by Sebastjan Vežnaver, and the next day transferred the purchase price, even though it is known that payment terms in public administration are 30 days from the conclusion and confirmation of the transaction. When this became public, Dominika Švarc Pipan began to complicate her excuses about her irresponsibility in this deal. It turned out that she had overpaid the building by around 6 million euros, the ministry did not order an appraisal, and they did not check the conditions even in the records of the Surveying and Mapping Authority of the Republic of Slovenia (Gurs). Consequently, the ministry paid for about two thousand square meters more than the demolished building actually covers.
So now that Dominika Švarc Pipan has been caught with her fingers in the jam, she has started making excuses. She says they will cancel the contract with Vežnaver’s company. Experts, however, say that the ministry or the state will find it very difficult to recover the money.
Backgrounds and acquaintances of the actors in this corrupt deal are increasingly being revealed, as reported by some media. Sebastjan Vežnaver is a friend of Rajko Hrvatič, and in his circle, starlets regularly hung out, including Tina Gaber. As commented by NSi MP Aleksander Reberšek, Gaber is mixing in everything like a blend of spices in vegeta seasoning. “From the background, she stops ministers, she is the first to be informed when farmers are losing livestock, destroying Slovenian agriculture. From the contribution we saw, it is very clear that she is not only a protector of animals but also fights for money, influence, and her own interests.”