CZK 2,900 million spent on data boxes in period 2009–2012
Press Release – September 23, 2013
The Supreme Audit Office performed an audit of funds spent on the purchase and operation of the system of data boxes, which had been provided and administered by the state enterprise Czech Post. The number of created data boxes amounted to 504,000 during the audited period 2009-2012. In 2012, the amount of sent messages amounted to 45 million and CZK 803 million was paid from the state budget for the service, which means that sending one message cost more than CZK 17 on average. Since 2013, the Czech Post has received CZK 500 million from the state budget for the system´s annual operation cost.
In the period 2009-2012, the data boxes system operation cost CZK 2,400 million. To operate the system, the Czech Post commissioned a supplier, whose services cost CZK 1,900 million within the audited period. "In spite the funding method was changed, there is a persisting difference between payments from the state budget and the expense charged by the supplier. The Czech Post is going to pay CZK 415 million to the supplier in 2013. At the same time, the Czech Post obtains CZK 500 million from the state budget as an annual fee for the system´s operation", said Member of the SAO Board Zdeněk Brandt, who managed the auditing operation.
According to a feasibility study produced at the Ministry of the Interior, the implementation of the data boxes system might have saved CZK 500 million from the state budget every year. Yet, the Ministry failed to exhibit any supporting documents to back up the above mentioned calculation of savings. The Ministry also failed to give evidence of meeting the other goals of the system´s implementation, i. e. to shorten the public administration proceedings and to increase their efficiency.
The state is obliged by the law to remunerate administrative bodies and agencies of public authority for data messages. Among the agencies are notaries and court bailiffs. From 2008 to 2012, the Ministry of the Interior paid for their data transactions more than CZK 623 million. In 2012, notaries and court bailiffs sent 17 million out of the total 45 million data transactions. "If the law is amended in the way that the state would not be obliged to pay for data transactions of private subjects including the notaries and bailiffs, a more favourable amount of the annual payment to the Czech Post could be negotiated. The difference could make tens or even hundreds of million Czech crowns", said Zdeněk Brandt.
Before the end of the auditing operation, the Ministry of the Interior did not make any software license contract regarding the data boxes system. In case of the post market liberalization or in case the Czech Post becomes privatized, there is a risk the competition for a new supplier will be problematical. The agreement between the Ministry and the Czech Post will expire in the end of 2017.
For further details about auditing operation No. 12/36 (in Czech only), see the following link: http://www.nku.cz/assets/media/informace-12-36.pdf (350 kB).
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office