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Prague 13 language school tender ‘nonstandard’

  9:06

Prague 13 awards teaching contract to a language school run by wife of district representative Miroslav Křížek, head of CzechInvest

Miroslav Křížek při nástupu do státních služeb tvrdil, že ukončí podnikatelské aktivity, kde hrozí střet zájmů. foto: © ČESKÁ POZICEČeská pozice

Prague 13 representative Miroslav Křížek (Civic Democrats, ODS), the founder of leading language school JIPKA (Jazykový institut Praha) and current head of the state agency for attracting investment, CzechInvest, had promised to set aside his entrepreneurial activities upon entering public service so as to avoid any possible conflicts of interest. But according to the Czech Commercial Register, he retains an 80 percent stake in JIPKA, which is now in the hands of his wife, Kateřina Křížková.

Křížková, meanwhile, has a 40 percent stake in a related firm, JIPKA Praha 13, which won a tender to teach English in primary schools in the city district — for which her husband has long been an ODS representative and for which he is also deputy chairman of the financial office. Křížek also acknowledges having connections to JIPKA Praha 13.

Czech Position has further learned that the terms of the Prague 13 tender may not have been standard. “We were not pleased that the selection procedure was announced twice. From the set of conditions, it was evident that it was tailor-made for someone,” said Milena Vorlíčková, owner of language school Lingua Nova, a failed bidder in the tender. “We therefore complained to the district mayor [David Vodrážka] and to the anti-monopoly office [ÚOHS].”

Flexible tender

Prague 13 City Hall first announced a tender for English-language instruction at scores of primary schools back in July 2009 — during the summer vacation. Shortly afterward, the selection process was canceled, with the reason given being a lack of funds. “I called the Municipal Office at the time to ask for the return of my [sealed] envelope with our bid. To my surprise, the head of the educational union, Evžen Mošovský, made it clear that the envelopes had been opened without our participation,” Vorlíčková said. ‘To my surprise … the envelopes had been opened without our participation.’

According to the head of the Lingua Nova school, opening the bids without the bidders themselves being present raised suspicions that the selection committee did so in order to gain information about the price offers so it could subsequently hold a new tender. Exactly a year later, on July 2, 2010, Prague 13 did exactly that. JIPKA Praha 13 was declared the winner, beating out two other bidders.

Vorlíčková, however, didn’t like the selection criteria, which she says seemed “made to order” for an unknown competitor. For example, one criterion was that applicants must submit a 30-minute instructional video. But during the elementary school summer holidays, training courses aren’t held, so only the “well informed” would have had prepared such a video in advance of the criteria being announced, said Vorlíčková, who pointed this out in her letters to the Municipal Office and to the other unsuccessful bidder, the Spěváček language school.

Vorlíčková also addressed Prague 13 District Mayor Vodrážka — and received a surprising answer. “On the grounds of your complaint, I asked Mr. Mošovský about his formulation to you with regard to public tenders. Mr. Mošovský assured me that the set conditions were in accordance with the law and internal regulations of the Prague 13 District Office,” he wrote. The same went for city officials having opened the bid envelopes.

We’re not connected

The contract between the Municipal Office and JIPKA Praha 13 is for Kč 2 million for the September 2010–June 2011 school year. the firm offered Kč 731 including value-added tax (VAT) for a teaching hour of 30 minutes, which, according to Vorlíčková, is in line with the rate for a qualified tutor. ‘None of my firms participated in any selection process that in theory I could influence.’The problem is that because the sealed bids were opened in the first tender, they could have had information about other offers.

However, Křížek rejects the possibility that the procedure for selecting a language school was manipulated. “None of my firms participated in any selection process that in theory I could influence,” he said. Asked about the business activities of his wife, who has a stake in JIPKA Praha 13, Křížek said that her “business activities are solely her business activities,” which is apparently due to a prenuptial agreement.

United we stand

The exchange of information in municipal politics among private businessmen and city officials has become standard in the Czech Republic. Nevertheless, Prague 13 opposition politician Vojtěch Šeferna (TOP 09) warned during a Municipal Council session about the possibility for a conflict of interest in awarding contracts for teaching English.

Křížek said at the time that he had a relation to the JIPKA brand but not to the company. The contract with JIPKA Praha 13 was signed on Aug. 8, 2010, by district Mayor Vodrážka, who, like Křížek, is an ODS party member.

“Mr. Křížek is evidently among those ‘successful’ entrepreneurs and politicians of the current day, whose words about morality bring a contemptuous smile to his face. Everyone will see through the evasive maneuvers and explanations of assorted cases with half-truths,” Šeferna said. “In other words, Mr. Křížek is making a monkey out of the voters, including his own. I for certain will continue to examine the nonstandard circumstances of the tender and the potential conflict of interest.”

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