TIRANA, November 19 – The conflict of interest and the lack of a detailed study regarding how the sterilization of hospital equipment should be carried out, led the former Minister of Health, Ilir Beqaj to face justice with suspicions that he abused his duty.
According to the decision of the Special Court, Beqaj would have to request a proper preliminary study before opening the concession procedure. During the procedure, the feasibility study, according to SPAK, was made with false data and was not detailed.
Meanwhile, there has been no study of how much it would cost to put the Central Sterilization Department at QSUT to work, for which, referring to some documents from 2014, the former minister was aware of its existence. In this way, the Court says, the Ministry would understand the needs of the system and could choose a way which would be less expensive for the state.
“The Minister of Health in this particular case, in the capacity of the contracting authority, is responsible for the use of public funds in a legal manner, with economy, effectiveness and efficiency,” said GJKKO in its statement.
On the other hand, the Court revealed the trips abroad that, according to SPAK, were made between Beqaj, his deputy Klodian Rjepaj, or even public photos of Beqaj with businessman Ilir Rrapaj were shown. According to the Court , they are in conflict of interest.
“Ilir Beqaj, acting Minister of Health in the capacity of the holder of the Subcontracting Authority, did not take measures to resolve the conflict of interests, excluding himself and the person under investigation Klodian Rjepaj in the concession procedure after learning about the competitors,” said the Court.
The security measure “Compulsion to appear” and “Prohibition of exiting the country” has been set for former minister Ilir Beqaj, while the latter has denied the accusations and said in a post on Facebook social network that he expects the justice to clarify this matter. /argumentum.al