According to the Overview of the State ofCar Fleetin the BiH Institutions, the Audi has clocked in 135,500 km and has already lost over 170,000 KM of its value. It is appraised at less than 50,000 KM, while it cost 219,900 KM.
Dobrivoje Jovičić, the head of Department for Material, Financial and General Affairs at the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, said he could not say if lousy procurement or bad car maintenance was to blame. “These cars at the cabinet and those other cars for the office holders…are often detailed…it’s a fast and furious race”. He also said that fast driving wears and tears the cars more and that the appraisal was conducted by an authorized service outlet ASA PVA.
The Center for Investigative Reporting in Sarajevo (CIN) had published a story earlier in which it showed that the Audi Q7 was bought from a Donji Žabari firm Transjug L. The firm’s owner is Đorđa Kojić, a deputy of the Republika Srpska National Assembly and a member of the ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats. The call for bids stated that an SUV vehicle with an engine of minimally 257kW / 350 horse power, volume 4,172 ccm, four-wheel drive, tiptronic gear box and a color of black metal, under the code of L8 Phanton.
Three Kojić-owned companies bided: Brčko Gas and S-Auto from Brčko and Transjug L. They sent their proposals on the same day. Brčko Gas offered 225,316 KM, S-Auto 220,452 KM and Transjug L 219.900 KM. The bidding committee found Transjug L’s offer to be the best.
Employees from Brčko Gas dealership said that this type of a car should not have frequent failures it used properly, but it depended on a driver, terrain, maintenance and the fuel.
According to the government records, the Office of the Council of Ministers’ chairman has 10 cars: three Audis aged four, five and ten years; three WV Passats aged five and ten years; three Passats aged nine, ten and thirteenth years; three protons aged fourteenth years and one Citroen- a 12-year old. All cars were rated bad, very bed and those with frequent breakdowns, except for a 9-year old passat who received a good rating.
Jovičić warns about the vehicles’ age: “Very often there are some …but they are not big failures…it’s some electronics and these parts are terribly expensive and they have issues”, said Jovičić.
In the performance audit of the BiH government car fleet which The Office for Auditing of BiH Institutions published several months ago it reads “that car fleet is not managed in an efficient and economic manner and the records on cars and their usage are such that it is not possible to establish the basis for use and the efficiency factor of the procured cars. Such practice leaves room for lavishness and inefficient use of public funds”.
