The Municipality of Montevideo (IM) defended before the Departmental Board the decision to recover the management of cleaning in the Center, Cordón and Ciudad Vieja despite the attacks of the National Partywhich he blames for having resolved the non-renewal of the contract to the CAP company due to the “pressure” of Adeom.
The director of Environmental Development of the mayor’s office, Guillermo Moncecchi, told the councilors that a “possibility” considered by the administration of Carolina Cosse consists of introducing motorcycles to the operation of the center. The departmental government will extend its link with the company through a direct purchase until March, although it establishes that as of January the “exclusivity” of the private sector to provide the service in the area will fall.
“Today, CAP has mechanisms for cleaning containers that will continue to work. At some point I have given as an example that if I wanted to use any of the other tools that the Administration has for cleaning, call motocarro, or collection within the framework of the Neighborhood to Neighborhood program, as we are doing in some cooperatives within the Old City, we could use them”, advanced the hierarch before the Environment and Health Commission.
Before the consultation of the white mayor Diego Rodríguez regarding a possible affectation in traffic due to the incorporation of new vehicles, Moncecchi maintained that There are already motorcycles in “densely populated” areas of the city such as Pocitos and Buceo. “We do not see that there is a problem with traffic there. In fact, today there are already trucks there collecting, doing Clean Zone tasks in those areas”founded the director of Environmental Development.
On the other hand, Moncecchi also assured Mayor Cosse that she can improve the cleaning results in points of the city that currently show overflowing containers. as he learned The Observerthe extremely trusted chief of the community chief has identified circuits in which the movement of trucks makes it difficult to remove the garbage.
The mayor’s bets are supported by his intention to resume service at the Center, after almost 20 years of being in the hands of the private Consorcio Ambiental del Plata (CAP). The capital’s opposition accuses the administration of giving in to the “pressure” of the Association of Municipal Employees and Workers (Adeom), which celebrated the news as the response to one of its historical demands, although with nuances in the union internal itself.
Camilo dos Santos
Containers of the Center that are in the hands of CAP
The white mayor Rafael Seijas told The Observer that “the abruptness of the decision” is a consequence “of the weight that the union exerts” on the departmental administration. The leader asked Moncecchi if even the mayor Cosse had not called the trade unionist Valeria Ripoll to advance her determination to recover downtown cleanliness.
The hierarch defended that the notifications were made “all on the same day.” “The decision was the result of an analysis within ours, in areas reserved for management, with the technicians, and of course at a political level, with the mayor. We handled it in a confidential manner for everything that had to do with, for example, giving the assurance that the workers were going to be maintained, that the service was going to be maintained, how it was going to be followed, what were the guidelines ”, he raised.
Moncecchi assured that “there were no negotiations of any kind on this issue” under the premise that “it is not something that is negotiated, it is a management definition.” “(The announcement) was all at the same time; all before the conference. It was practically simultaneous. First, the meeting with Adeom was held and then the meeting with the company, but we are talking about a half-hour difference,” said the chief.
One of the main motivations of the administration is to make the service cheaper by around US$ 4 million per year. The commune assured the councilors that the transitory trust format –similar to that of TV Ciudad– through which the workers will pass from the company to the orbit of the mayor will allow the salary scale to be maintained, even respecting seniority in the activity.
“90% of the city is managed by the Municipality; today it has infrastructure, it has experience, it has knowledge. It is working on the entire chain, from operations to maintenance; there are workshops. In other words, today the Administration has the prior knowledge to acquire this task; It is not something new for the Administration, “said the hierarch.
From the commune they maintain that they intend to have an “integrated management of the entire department”, although CAP’s evaluation has already led to friction with the company, especially from the Communist Party. “We are asked if we are satisfied with the work of the CAP company; we answer no”, declared in August 2013 the director of Environmental Development, Juan Canessa, in the time of Ana Olivera.
CAP declines invitation
The company that maintains the management of the cleaning of the area since 2003 – when the management of Mariano Arana established the current system of containers – refused to attend the Commission for the Environment and Health of the Departmental Board despite the invitation of the aediles
“We understand that, since it is a decision of the Departmental Government within the exercise of its powers, within the framework of public procurement regulations, it is not appropriate to comment on it,” Teyma’s Business Development manager wrote in a note, Louis Horta.
