In 2004, the Ministry of Education (MENiS) outlined a project providing for equipping till the end of 2006 all schools and libraries with computers. There are to get 300,000 computers altogether. The project is worth PLN 1.5 billion (EUR 367.9m), and 75 percent of the sum comes from EU funds. About PLN 300m was to be spent in 2004, PLN 500m in 2005 and the rest – in 2006. Until today, MENiS has not spent a single zloty and schools have not received a single computer. Funds from 2004 were shifted for 2005. This year, probably no acquisition will be made, either.
The reason? “Because of many protests of companies, the tenders are taking much longer than planned. There is a possibility that part of the funds will not be used till the end of 2005”, Mieczyslaw Grabianowski, MENiS spokesman admitted. This meanst that the rest of the funds will have to be spent in 2006, which may be difficult. MENiS spokesman explained that the public tender law is makes tenders difficult. It is very hard to describe the product to get exactly what the buyer wants but not to face protests from producers whose products are a little bit different. The Polish Chamber of Computers and Telecommunication has recently pointed out that overregulated tender law was one of the barriers hindering the development of IT sector in Poland.
Some IT producers admit that they protest not to get contracts but to cancel the procedure. “The law makes it possible. We must take the chance for the benefit of our company. If I have no chances to get the contract, I look for mistakes in the offers of my rivals”, one of the companies said.
(PLN 1 = EUR 0.245)