The National Institute of Student Welfare (Inabie) assured today that it is striving to make tenders increasingly transparent and focused on guaranteeing the well-being of more than 1.8 million public school students throughout the country.
The entity, which supplies school breakfast and lunch in public schools, says that it has carried out bidding processes respecting and complying with the provisions of Law 340-06 on Public Contracting.
With this position, Inabie, an entity directed by Víctor Castro, responds to the complaint published on Friday in El Nacional that due to alleged anomalies, more than a thousand small and medium suppliers of school lunch and breakfast were not hired and that therefore they would go to bankruptcy.
“Inabie has carried out bidding processes in accordance with the mandate of Law 340-06 and under terms of reference with high technical rigor, focused on guaranteeing the well-being of more than 1.8 million students that we serve through school meals. ”, maintains the educational institution in a letter sent to the editorial office of El Nacional.
It states that the tenders made are competitive processes in which a much higher number of suppliers participate (2,177) than the available lots submitted for tender, that is, 1,350.
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“As you know, in any competition there are winners and losers. The government is determined to cover the processes of Inabie with transparency; society has been demanding it”, insisted the entity.
fit to supply
Inabie acknowledges that bidders were certainly excluded, but that it is normal for this to happen, since the awards were obtained by those considered more suitable based on the terms of reference.
“The opposite would then have been a distribution to please everyone, whether or not they met the established requirements, and in that case we could not speak of bidding; neither of transparency nor of rules of the game”, indicates the letter signed by Castro.
The director of unabie In the letter sent to this medium, he emphasizes that the so-called irregularities invoked are not such and that they are simply non-conformities from which whoever wishes can appeal to the established institutional mechanisms, such as the documented challenge before the corresponding bodies.
He said that the arguments of Elizabeth Berigüete, spokesperson for the suppliers who denounce irregularities, are strange, since she is not a supplier, but an advisor who charges fees to them for her constant public attacks against the good reputation of this management in Inabie.
“How is it that the suppliers represented by the paid advisor, Mrs. Berigüete, competed in a process in which they understand there is alleged poor preparation of the specific specifications and the poor conformation of the contracted grocery lots, would they think the same if would they have won?” Castro points out.
no danger breakfast
Contrary to what was expressed by the lady in question who also denounced that the supply of school breakfast is in danger, Castro said that Inabie works with all energy so that this does not happen and that “she does it overcoming all possible obstacles and despite the constant noise that we suffered because the rules of the game changed from opacity to transparency. And that is, quite simply, the origin of the siege.”
“At Inabie we are always with ears ready to listen and we have no problem recognizing opportunities for improvement and amending them when these are demonstrated on objective and reasonable bases, as well as by provisions of the governing bodies,” the official pointed out in the document. .
Castro, appointed on November 16, 2020, by decree 733-21, replacing Cecilio Antonio Rodríguez Montás, warned that he will not be ready to return to the schemes of the past that left much to be desired in terms of good practices.
Responsible
Víctor Castro pointed out that there is no doubt that among the thousands of Inabie suppliers there are many responsible, compliant entities, committed to the best.
However, the official points out that there are also those who do not feel comfortable with the parameters based on best practices adhered to laws and regulations. He added that his management works every day so that the work in favor of the students is more and more, regardless of what may affect interests.
