The State Audit Office (SAO) has determined several inconsistencies in public procurement in the operation of the Pelagonija Student Dormitory in based in Skopje’s Kisela Voda, with the most striking finding being that the dormitory purchased bread at a price of MKD 126 per kilogram.
“After the introduction of daily records, monthly invoices in 2025 have significantly decreased compared to 2024. The audit also determined that with the new contract in 2025, the price of bread reached 126 denars/kg, which is significantly above the market price of around 70 denars/kg, which indicates uneconomical use of public funds and weaknesses in the control of public procurement,” the SAO concluded.
The student dormitory operated with this practice in 2024 and 2023, and one piece of bread was considered to weigh one kilogram, this type of food was not measured in relation.
In the procurement of bread and flour in 2023, the contract was concluded with a bidder whose main activity was not related to the subject of the procurement, and the audit was not presented with the mandatory bank guarantee for quality performance of the contract, which indicates that the contract was concluded without its submission. Additionally, although the agreed price for bread was MKD 57.46 per kilogram, during the implementation, the economic operator invoiced one piece of bread as a kilogram, which was discovered only at the end of 2024 due to weak internal controls,” added the SAO.
