Magyar Posta bike scandal rolls on

One of many ongoing corruption scandals involving government money rages on at Magyar Posta, albeit to a lesser degree. After the previous tender for bicycles was terminated due to widespread accusations of corruption, the Hungarian postal service announced a new tender last Tuesday. The budget has been reduced to Ft 500 million (€1.7 million) for the 4,800 bikes, which still works out at around Ft 100,000 (€350) per bike, reports Index.hu.
Magyar Posta’s last effort to buy new bicycles was challenged, while a senior manager was suspended for allegedly leaking insider information to Gyõr-based tender winner Cronopont Kft. Not only was that contract extremely pricey, the company, primarily a property developer, also failed to fill its delivery obligations and the contract was terminated in July 2008. Magyar Posta is now inviting new offers to supply 4,800 bicycles with an option on a further 2000. The value of the new contract will be around Ft 500 million and, unlike the previous deal, will not include servicing and maintenance, said spokesman Tamás Tomecskó. As for the price, it is possible to offer value for money at of Ft 100,000 per bike, but only with high-quality components, design and build quality. In other words, don’t hold your breath.