Leny Chuquimia / La Paz
After the publication of the cost of the award of the cafeteria service for the Senate, the Upper House reported that the contract was terminated on February 25 due to “force majeure”. He didn’t say anything about prices.
“The communication department of the Upper House informs that, on February 25, 2022, the contract for the recurring cafeteria and snack service for the Senate management 2022 with the company Gate Gourmet Catering was suspended and terminated. Bolivia, due to force majeure,” says the statement issued on March 2.
According to the State Contracting System (Sicoes), the resolution of the contract was accepted and signed on February 25, but the documentation was not delivered or published in the system until March 3. It was at that time that the resolution report was made public.
This document indicates that on February 21, the legal representative of Gate Gourmet Catering Bolivia SA, Werner Julian Guth Borda, requested the chamber entity to suspend the contract. The reason that led him to make the decision was operational and had nothing to do with prices.
“Through Cite: GGCBSA-LU014/2022, dated February 21, 2022, your person on behalf of Gate Gourmet Catering Bolivia SA requested the termination of the contract due to force majeure or fortuitous event, since, as a supplier, it is seen unable to fulfill its obligations within the initially agreed conditions, since several of its workers were infected with Covid-19, an extreme that would harm the good performance in the provision of the service, ”explains the document.
To nullify the contract, the report refers to the fact that there was a verification of the tests sent by the provider. The service prosecutor, Daniel Apaza, was the one who verified what was stated by the supplier, qualified and certified the existence of causes of force majeure.
The report of this action was issued by Apaza on February 23. It indicates that it is necessary to proceed to the resolution of the contract. This document was not published.
Upon verifying that the situation was out of the hands of the supplier and the contracting party, the legal representative’s request was accepted and the contract annulled.
“In application of the provisions of clauses twenty and twenty-first of administrative contract 029/2021, of December 31, 2021, I inform you of the acceptance of your request,” says the document signed by a senior official of the Chamber of Senators, Felix Vasquez.
It instructs that the execution of the service and the liquidation of the aforementioned contract must be suspended. It adds that the balances must be established in favor or against for their respective payment or collection, as appropriate.
The clause to which Vásquez refers in his report specifies that by qualifying the causes as force majeure, fortuitous event and other duly justified causes, the provider is exonerated from fulfilling the obligations related to the service.
