Carlos Pimentel, the director of the Public Procurement Agency (DGCP), said on 8 August 2022 that the Minister of Education never officially responded to the hundreds of observations and recommendations his department made to the Ministry of Education. DGCP rejected several tenders due to deficiencies in the Ministry of Education government contracting procedures.
DGCP director Pimentel mentioned the annulling of 51 of 54 lots of the electronic devices tender. He said his department warned that several suppliers were closely related and several would not be able to deliver because these did not have the installed capacity to do so.
Recently, the DGCP rejected the digital textbooks tender, accepting a challenge made by one of the participants in the process. Pimentel said that as was normal, at the time the Ministry of Education did not respond to the challenge. As a result, Pimentel said his department suspended the execution of the four lots.
The media reported the Ministry of Education would ignore the notification and receive the digital textbooks from the disputed suppliers.
During an interview on the program El Día, broadcast on Telesistema, channel 11, Pimentel added that he made hundreds of observations and recommendations to the Ministry of Education and these were ignored.
Carlos Pimentel said the Ministry of Education did not accept a request for a DGCP staff to assist the Ministry of Education in its procurement procedures. A member of the DGCP had been appointed by presidential decree but was not accepted at the Ministry of Education.
Shortly after he was removed, former Minister of Education visited the Chamber of Accounts to formally request an audit of his two years at the Ministry (17 August 2020 to 3 August 2022).
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Diario Libre
Listin Diario
9 August 2022