The Public Procurement Agency (Dirección de Contrataciones Públicas) announced it has repealed the controversial resolution 15-08 that was issued on 4 November 2008. The resolution, which allowed for the creation of flexible terms for contracting, was sighted by a recent government audit as an instrument used by the Metropolitan Bus Services Office (Omsa) to enter into numerous procurement agreements that evaded scrutiny by normal government contract oversight procedures. Resolution 02-18 of the procurement agency cancelled the authorizations.
The 2012 to 2017 audit by the Chamber of Accounts revealed that former director of OMSA, Manuel Rivas, had authorized billions of pesos worth irregular purchases. Rivas is in jail awaiting the start of the trial.
The audit, which was called after the murder of lawyer Yuniol Ramírez, who was investigating the irregularities at the OMSA, opened the Pandora box leading to public attention and action to check the irregularities at the OMSA. The Chamber of Accounts audit revealed that under Rivas, 51 suppliers received payments, authorized by the director of the OMSA, for RD$3,029,885,296 without signed contracts.
Yokasta Guzman, director of the Public Procurement Office, told the press the OMSA under Manuel Rivas used the facility for most of its purchases of airline tickets, travel, fuel and workshop repairs.
After the announcement by Guzmán, on Tuesday, 29 May 2018, the executive vice president of the Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice (Finjus), Servio Tulio Castaños called for more to be done to check government purchases. He said amendments to the General Procurement Law 340-06 that would further check deficiencies in government procurement practices need to be passed. Castaños Guzmán said that Law 340-06 does not guarantee transparency, has distorted the public function, does not have a criminal consequence regime, and the established sanctions are administrative in nature – that is, there is no consequences regime.
“It is a law that lends itself to bids that can be manipulated, reflects serious weaknesses in the issue of contracting works, among other gaps and distortions. In short, that law must and must be transformed,” he said. He asked that President Danilo Medina send the proposal that the Legal Consultancy of the Executive Branch already has to Congress. Finjus and a group of experts worked on the draft that he explained seeks to strengthen the procurement system.
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Listin Diario
Diario Libre
30 May 2018
