On October 8, 2021, the National School Aid and Scholarship Board (Junaeb) opened a tender to contract the services of supplying rations for the School Food Program (PAE) and the Preschool Food Program (PAP), which It will run from March 1 to December 31, 2025.
The process has not been exempt from questioning, specifically, the deputy and senator-elect of the Christian Democracy (DC), Ivan Flowerssent an official letter to the Comptroller of the Republic requesting a complete inspection of the tender in Junaeb.
“We are concerned about what is happening; more than a million daily rations that must be delivered are at stake here and we cannot tolerate abuses or practices by companies outside the law,” Flores said.
In addition, the parliamentarian indicated that he carried out this action appealing to “protect the well-being of children and adolescents in the school system, the necessary transparency, compliance with current laws and the proper use of public resources, in the face of a series of questions and alarms that worry us”.
“A great deal cannot be allowed with such a sensitive and relevant issue as the delivery of more than one hundred daily rations to schoolchildren who depend on this caloric source, many times, being their only food of the day,” he added.
According to the bases of the process – whose award would be announced on January 26, but was postponed without explanation or date to be informed – the payment equal to or greater than 5,000 UTM, corresponding to $272,210,000 million pesos, is contemplated for acquire “an estimated amount of 1,333,457 daily food products, made up of breakfast services, mid-morning breakfast, lunch, eleven, dinner and third service”.
The Office to the Comptroller
The Falangist, referring to the entry of the trade, expressed that “we already know the effects of monopoly and market distortions when there is oligopoly, few companies placing them on the verge of collusion, or perhaps collusion; you have to investigate. Subsequently, and in light of the results of the inspection, I have requested to send the records to the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office in case there are indications of predatory practices, collusion or any other type that negatively affect the process.”
“There is a company questioned for anti-union practices, there is another that was sanctioned for delivering food in poor condition; and, another, where its inefficiency in this area has already been proven. And, it turns out that these three companies are part of a single owner, a Uruguayan company. They cannot make fun of our students,” added the deputy.
Within the document sent by Flores to the comptroller, he indicates that “we are talking about the companies that will be in charge of something so fundamental in the lives of children and adolescents, such as food. A correct diet influences their nutrition, cognitive development and allows them to develop and grow better. The risks associated with errors in storage, distribution, preparation and delivery can be enormous, especially if there are errors in the cold chain and/or poor condition of the food supplied.
The statement ends by stating that “protecting the rights of children and adolescents is the duty of the State, and it is not possible for companies that have shown serious problems with the storage and supply of food to regroup and continue to provide this service for several more years, delivering low or directly poor quality food to those who need it most in a stage of growth and formation.
