The Attorney General’s Office opened disciplinary research against the former mayor of Riohacha, José Ramiro Bermúdez Cortés (2020-2023), for alleged irregularities in the execution of a contract for the construction of a bridge over the mouth of the Ranchería River, on the First Avenue of that District of La Guajira. The former Secretary of Infrastructure and Public Services, Samir José Cardozo; the then supervisor of the contract, Ronald Neil Pérez Ojeda; the former legal representative of the GEO-TERRA INTERVENT CONSORTIVE, Vianey Lara Castro; and the supervisor of the framework agreement that financed the work, Francisco Atilano.
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According to the control entity, In the development of the contract, substantial modifications to the original designs would have been presented. The initial proposal contemplated the construction of a four -lane bridge with platforms and cycloruta, but a change towards a lower capacity structure, only two lanes was executed, with The elimination of several of the projected components. As documented in the file, the justification delivered by those responsible would have been the financial unfeasibility of the initial proposal.
Possible conflict of interest in delivery of studies
In the course of the investigation, the Attorney General identified a possible conflict of interest in the role played by the then Secretary of Infrastructure and Public Services, Samir José Cardozo. According to the information collected, Cardozo would have delivered to the National Company Promoting of Territorial Development (Enterritory) the studies and designs that served as the basis for the hiring of the work, while in parallel he exercised as a legal representative and partner of the firm that elaborated the architectural designs.
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The action of the former official will be verified in the disciplinary process, since the control body seeks to determine if he incurred an incompatibility when intervening in the administrative process of a public procurement in which a company of which he was part was involved. For the Attorney General’s Office, this point has special attention because it compromises transparency in the management of public resources and the impartiality in the definition of the technical parameters of the work.
INTERVENTORY UNDER OBSERVATION FOR DESIGN SUPPLY
Disciplinary research also extends to the performance of the Geo-Terra Consortium, in charge of the audience of the work. According to the Attorney General’s Office, this firm would have supplied the new studies and designs that are currently in execution. The control body warned that this situation “It blurs its control and surveillance role by generating a possible conflict by supervising their own studies and designs and compromises its technical independence against the work contract.”
The control entity analyzes whether the participation of the audit in the elaboration of the studies that it had later monitored constituted a disciplinary offense, by diluting the separation of functions between those who design and those who control. According to preliminary research, This fact could have limited the ability to exercise independent supervision and with technical rigor on the construction of the bridge on Riohacha Avenue.
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At this stage, the Attorney General’s Office will advance the practice of documentary and testimonial evidence to establish the disciplinary responsibility of those investigated. The process is under reservation and does not have a fixed period of duration, in accordance with current regulations.
Paula Galeano Balaguera
Portfolio journalist
