Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (source: TASR - Lukáš Grinaj)
A heated dispute has erupted within the government over a planned IT equipment purchase that could cost taxpayers up to €326 million — not including software. The row pits the Finance Ministry’s Value for Money Unit (ÚHP) against the Interior Ministry, which is spearheading the procurement of up to 115,000 computers and related hardware for the wider public administration.
Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok, of the Hlas party, has accused the analysts of spreading “nonsense” and suggested that Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický (Smer) should “clean up his team”. Critics argue that the purchase, even if only partially completed, risks being vastly overpriced.
The ÚHP estimates that the state could overspend by at least €122 million, flagging items such as high-end PCs costing over €3,300 apiece — nearly triple the usual administrative cost — and monitors listed at more than €1,100, despite viable alternatives priced at €239. The unit also questions whether the public sector truly needs such a large volume of devices, particularly when the ministry’s audit covered only its own offices.
Šutaj Eštok has defended the tender as transparent and efficient, noting that the €326 million figure represents the upper limit of the framework agreement. “We won’t spend more than we need,” he said, adding that the procurement aligns with the government’s policy agenda to modernise ageing public-sector hardware — some of which dates back more than a decade.
The Interior Ministry says it has so far committed only €5 million, with €34 million available in total, and that equipment will be replaced in stages — starting with the police, firefighters and IT departments. It also claims energy costs will fall by 30 per cent thanks to more efficient machines.
But the backlash is growing. Critics point out that the tender excludes software, which may require a separate and costly procurement — particularly as some systems still run on Windows 7. Opposition MP Marián Viskupič (SaS) warned that the inflated budget suggests an intent to spend the full amount, regardless of cheaper offers the ministry has received.
“This is not how public procurement should work,” he said. “We’re in a time of fiscal consolidation, and the Interior Ministry is behaving as if that doesn’t apply to them.”
SaS has called for the tender to be scrapped and is considering escalating the matter to oversight bodies. The party also noted the irony of Hlas being accused of wasteful spending by its coalition partner, Smer.
“In a normal country,” added SaS MP Juraj Krúpa, “the interior minister would have resigned by now.”
