THE CASE of Regional Procurement Agency (ROA) in Horné Plachtince, dubbed a “classic Slovak scam” by the opposition, caused red faces in the New Majority (NOVA) party in late April after information surfaced that a party member, Ján Feranc, was among the owners of ROA.
ROA was granted the right by the Interior Ministry to handle procurement on behalf of the ministry and more than 20 other state organisations, but was subsequently criticised in the media when the deal became public. From the details that have emerged, it seems that Horné Plachtince was brought in as a partner in ROA merely in order for it to qualify as a ‘state’ procurer – despite the fact that the municipality has absolutely no experience with large-scale procurement.
According to Daniel Lipšic, leader of NOVA, Feranc, who became a member of NOVA only a few days before the media reports emerged, has been dismissed from the party, the Etrend.sk reported on April 30. Lipšic says he did not know Feranc personally.
He admitted that since he does not check all the party’s members, other people with what he called a murky past could conceivably join the party in the future, Etrend.sk wrote.
Feranc owns the company TenderOnline, which together with the municipality of Horné Plachtince, owns ROA.
