SRCE: Public Utility 'Mediana' Dramatically Increased Software Maintenance Payments

The Srbija centar (SRCE) party in Niš has raised serious concerns regarding the financial dealings of the local public utility company "Mediana." According to Vesna Stojanović, the president of SRCE's City Board in Niš, public procurement data reveals a staggering increase in payments made to the company "Coming" for the maintenance of business software.

Stojanović pointed out that "Mediana" has a series of continuous contracts with the same supplier, "Coming," with steadily increasing values. She detailed how payments escalated from 3.5 million dinars in 2021 to an alarming 47.8 million dinars by 2026 for a 15-month contract. This significant price hike, she argues, lacks clear justification and represents a disproportionately high investment for a utility company.

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When the price for the same job jumps from several million to almost 50 million dinars, and the contractor remains the same and the only one, then we are no longer talking about the market, but about a rigged deal.

SRCE suggests this is not merely poor management but a potential scheme to siphon public funds. They highlight that the software was implemented during the tenure of the current mayor, Dragoslav Pavlović. The party criticizes the lack of competition and oversight, suggesting that such practices, where a single company benefits from escalating contracts worth billions across Serbia, are becoming a troubling pattern in public utility companies nationwide. This raises questions about the transparency and accountability of public spending in Serbia.

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Public money is not being spent but is being 'directed,' and specifically towards a predetermined Belgrade company that generates billions of dinars in annual revenue from state contracts.