The Court of Cundinamarca admitted a lawsuit filed by the Foundation for the Rule of Law (FEDe. Colombia) for the contracting of services for issuing foreign identity cards between the national printing press, migration Colombia and the company holographic access.
The entities to which the claim is addressed are: Migration Colombia, the Revolving Fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Printing Office, responsible for the contractual procedures for preparing these documents.
According to FEDe. Colombia in a statement, the popular action filed “seeks the protection of collective rights to administrative morality, the defense of public assets and free economic competition.” The foundation also points out that this is in response to the fact that “The obligation to tender the provision of services has been evaded and direct contracting has been misused. The entities have entered into inter-administrative contracts and have triangulated the execution of these activities with third parties.”
To put it in context, the shareholders point out that Migración Colombia signed an inter-administrative contract with the National Printing Office so that it can produce the foreign identity cards. However, it was omitted that this office does not have “the necessary organization, technology, resources, personnel and infrastructure” to fulfill this obligation.
In addition to the above, “The printing company subcontracted all of the obligations assumed to its ‘strategic ally’ Accesos Holográficos de Colombia, a legal entity whose technical, financial and experience requirements to carry out this task are unknown.”
Along the same lines, the plaintiffs found that there was no objective selection process and that even the Holographic Access proposal was not the most economical, adding itsalleged shortcomings with direct outsourcing.
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Courts of Bogotá and Cundinamarca
Carlos Lopez / THE TIME
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“The action indicates that irregularities in the contracting processes for the issuance of foreign identity cards and passport books put at risk the continuity of these services, which are essential for Colombians who intend to leave the country or for foreigners who live and reside in Colombia.”said Andrés Caro, director of the Rule of Law Foundation.
Thus, with this action the plaintiffs seek that measures be taken so that both the Revolving Fund and Migration Colombia ensure continuity in the provision of these public services.
It is important to note that the foundation does not intend to annul the signed contracts, but rather “seeks the adoption of necessary measures to prevent the decisions and conduct referred to from continuing in an improvised manner, and to the detriment of the provision of public service, assets, administrative morality and free competition”the entity concluded in the statement.
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PORTFOLIO
*With information from EL TIEMPO – JUSTICE
