Nearly 730 thousand levs from the troubled state budget will easily be spent on new technological gadgets to care for future members of Parliament. For each of the 240 MPs will be bought a luxury laptop, the estimated price of each one being 1250 levs without VAT. There are also two spare ones just in case. There will be one PC for each two parliamentarians in case someone forgot their portable machine. The price is above 1080 levs without VAT, given that they only 90 monitors have been included.
Surprises for the National Assembly continue with 80 printers (300 levs each), multiple servers (97 thousand levs) and one managable disk array for storing data for 66,666 levs without VAT. All this should be delivered within 40 days after signing the contract with the selected firm, which will probably happen in July as the bids of the applicants will be opened on May 29.
Someone will say that so far people have worked in Parliament as if in the olden times – with pen in hand, or on typewriters. This, of course, is not true. It is just the fact that Bulgaria is so rich that it can afford each year to upgrade the equipment in its core institutions. How much is one million levs in times of a crisis? It is far more important that rulers feel good. Because, as we know, lawmakers are forging difficult laws and in order to relax, they meay need to play a game or two on their new gadgets. Otherwise nobody has seen laptops and tablets to be used in the Parliamentary Hall.
But all this does not prevent at a certain time peior the National Assembly to carry out a complete renovation of the computer systems. As for the fate of the old devices archives are silent. They may be sold, may be donated, or maybe someone could have taken them home. Only half a year ago – on 12 November 2012 the Assembly paid 322,275 levs without VAT for the supply, installation and configuration of six servers, 100 printers, 140 desktops and 50 laptop computers. Where are now all these devices? In any case it will not be a big surprise if it turns out that former lawmakers have taken them home, because in such a short time can neither spoil, nor grow old, to the extent that they are not suitable for use.
Contractors are three well-known companies – Lirex BG , Stemo and Kontrax. First company is owned Manol Iliev and his children. During recent years, it has dozens of contracts with government agencies. It was this company that the Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises commissioned the construction of the infamous Export Portal. During the last year, Lirex supplies aso the ink for printers in ministries and their subordinate structures. Recently the company was hired for the introduction of new information technologies in the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. Checks with the records, however, show that the company is a favourite with the National Assembly. In 2011, the day before Christmas Eve, it signed another contract – for 40 PCs 15 laser printers and 5 network laser printers. The value was 56,844 lev. On December 28, 2010 again was concluded contract for 19 thousand levs for the delivery of another 30 laser printers for the Parliament. Lirex took the most attractive piece of the pie in the last days of the coalition government. On 1 July 2009, the company harvested 536,832 levs for delivery, installation and warranty service of 208 PCs and 64 laptops.
If we draw the line, it appears that only in the period in office of GERB MPs were bought 388 computers and 114 portable machines, 150 printers and six servers. And the money spent for this purpose came to nearly one million lev. Really impressive achievement even if this were a technology company that deals with the development of software products.
The BANKER
