Several of Bulgarias IT companies have collided with the State Administration Ministry over the procurement of lucrative public tenders related to the Electronic Government (e-Government) initiative.
The conflict circles around a six million leva e-Government project that should be implemented by the end of 2007.
A fully-functional e-Government would require the delivery of hardware and software solutions that would make the mass of the state administration data accessible online.
Ten companies bought tender documents for the procedure but only two of them HP Bulgaria and Siemens Business Services went on to submit offers that unsealed on July 25.
The procedure was biased in favour of HP and did not allow other international IT companies to enter the frame, the Bulgarian Association for Information Technologies (BAIT) said on July 26.
Three companies ACSIOR, Contrax and IBM have taken legal steps to halt the procedure, local media reported.
In response, State Administration Minister Nikolai Vassilev threatened a libel suit against BAIT.
The row also developed a political dimension with the suggestion that it was engineered to draw the attention away from a company close to the incumbents opting for another state administration project.
BAIT has also pointed out that the software component of the deal is disproportionate to that of the hardware, which will absorb 90 per cent of the six million leva budget.
According to BAIT, there are many prerequisites for corruption in the procedure, as a result of which the state would incur losses. As much as 90 per cent of the money for the public procurement contract would be spent on hardware. The hardware terms of reference have been drawn up in a way that suits a particular company that would win the competition Hewlett Packard, BAIT said.
The leadership of BAIT insists on termination of the public procurement procedure, BAIT board chair Zlatko Zlatev told a news conference.
BAIT proposes to amend the Public Procurement Act in order to tighten control over the state bodies and experts involved in the preparation and holding of tenders in the information technologies sector.
Certain circles are interested in the failure of our ministrys project for the e-Government, Vassilevs response was.
The request of BAIT for termination of the public procurement procedure for the delivery and building of an integrated electronic government system is not supported by all companies from the sector, Vassilev told reporters.
This project will set up the fundamentals of an e-Government system. The criteria are high, as we cannot allow any failure, Vassilev said.
The Association of the Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (AICB) blew the whistle on August 1 on what it claimed was the latest scandalous and corrupt procedure for a public procurement contract for delivery and building of an integrated e-Government system.
The association wants the procedure halted immediately.
We would not want this to be the latest failed, nonviable information system project but one generously paid for by the state, the employers association said.
The AICB joined BAIT in its call on Vassilev to stop the contract procedure, seek BAITs assistance, have the documents reworked and announce a new procedure.
As an association representing Bulgarias industry, we categorically object to Minister Vassilevs policy restricting the participation of Bulgarian companies in the design of the projects software component, AICB said.
Also on July 26, Vassilev categorically denied BAITs accusations.
Certain circles are interested in the failure of our ministrys project for e-government, Vassilev said, adding he would think about safeguarding his and the ministrys rights through a law court.
