Othón Zevallos, manager of Agua Potable de Quito, says that they are working to recover the credibility of the company after contracts delivered between 2019 and 2020.
By a sum of $4.33 million The contract was made that the Metropolitan Public Company of Potable Water and Sanitation of Quito (Epmaps)
gave to Geincosolution, for the design and construction of the drinking water project for San Juan de Calderónin the north of Quito.
Othon Zevallosmanager of Epmaps, details that the company known as Geinco violated regulations of the Public Procurement Law. It did so during the execution of the contract signed in 2019, for which the municipal company was unilaterally dissolved. This was one of the three contracts that, between 2019 and 2020, were assigned “by finger” during Jorge Yunda’s mayoralty.
$45 million without contests
Geinco wasn’t the only company to arrive in a “questionable” way, says Zevallos.
Between 2019 and 2020, an amount of $16.4 million was granted to Technomacro SA, for the integral rehabilitation of the Papallacta pumping system. This company, however, had no experience in the pumping system. also delivered $21.4 million to Inmosolutionto expand the sewage networks in Tumbaco.
This, together with the Geinco contract, gives a total of 45 million in three projects that so far remain unfinished. The state of progress reaches approximately 50%.
In all three cases, the Comptroller’s Office issued reports in which it determined that the contracts were made using “false strategic alliances” that prevented other companies from submitting a public tender.
“We determined that they eluded the Sercop contracting processes and avoided competitive, transparent processes. It was delivered directly; what is commonly called ‘by finger’, but through a pseudo-strategic alliance”, explains the Manager of Epmaps.
What was the catch? Although the figure of strategic alliance exists and is legal; “It’s scheduled for when there is an enterprise that a public company wants to work with an individual that can provide technology, capital. For example, if Epmaps wanted to make an aluminum sulfate factory (…) and it does not have the expertise”, Zevallos details.
But Epmaps awarded the contract to Geinco for the construction of a potable water project. So – questions Zevallos – “what expertise can a private person provide if this is what Epmaps has done for 60 years”.
Another justification for the participation of Geinco was that he would contribute with the 50% of the capital. “But it turns out Epmaps certified 100% of the budget”. In other words, if the municipal company managed to certify 100% of the money, the resources did exist and the figure of a strategic alliance was unnecessary. “Ultimately, it is concluded that it was a way of circumventing the contracting processes.” Moreover, the contract was not registered in Sercop and that is what currently creates obstacles for Epmaps to launch a new contracting process.
According to the municipal company, in mid-April 2022 the contracting process will begin, for the completion of the project that includes the installation of a transmission line that connects the tanks Carcelén and San José de Morán two“with the aim of increasing the flow rate by 110 liters per second”.
When asking Othón about the damage that these contracts represented for the city, he says that this is yet to be determined by the State Attorney General’s Office. “But, when there is a transparent competitive process, contracting prices are achieved below the reference, by approximately 15%”, says the Manager.
In the contract with Geinco, on the other hand, no costs were achieved below the benchmark.
legal battle
On March 28, 2022, in the Judicial Unit of Calderón, the protective action that he was able to return the contracts to Geinco.
The company, whose general manager is Gustavo Gerardo Espinel, a well-known friend of Yunda, argued that there was a violation of his business freedom rights and described himself as a victim of persecution by the municipal authorities.
“This is not about any persecution. What we have done here is strictly comply with what is established in the Law and we have defended the rights of the Metropolitan Potable Water and Sanitation Company”, adds Othón.
Although Yunda has detailed that it is the managers of the companies who sign the contracts. In May 2021, the then manager of Epmaps, Juan Pablo Espinosa, stated that he was separated from the company because he did not want to cancel the invoices to Geinco and had frozen the contracts.
Is the Epmaps broken?
Zevallos affirms that the finances of Epmaps have “stable finances” which has allowed “to have the confidence of international organizations.” That is why they managed to execute a loan that had been stalled with the Inter-American Development Bank for two years, “due to the instability of the company” (six managers in less than two years).
The Epmaps budget for this 2022 is $42 million. With this, says the Manager, it is expected to recover the institutionality and credibility of the company. (AVV)
Money from the alleged hack was not 100% recovered
On June 2, 2020, the mayor of Quito, Jorge Yunda, denounced an alleged ‘hacking’ of the accounts of the Quito Potable Water and Sanitation Company and it was learned that there was a irregular transfer of $1.3 million.
Zevallos says that most of the money was recovered, but that $178,000 is missing “which we are tracking with the support of the State Attorney General’s Office (…) it is not easy to trace the path that the appeal followed or whose name it is in.”
Despite the hacking hypothesis, the Central Bank reported that there was no digital attack on their accounts or systems. Zevallos says that this is in the preliminary investigation stage, that it is reserved, so, for now, it is not known what happened.
Carlos Uriarte, era el gerente de Epmaps, cuando se firmó el contrato con Geinco.
