This September 27, a public hearing will be held in Cali presided over by the mayor of the city, Jorge Iván Ospina, regarding the corruption scandal involving the capital’s public service company, Emcali.
In this space, the president will give answers to the questions about the contracts that they present alleged cost overruns and that led the Attorney General’s Office to put the magnifying glass on the millionaire awards.
(Cities where a gallon of gasoline will cost more than $10,000 this year).
Alerts went on for a contract signed with the Temporary Union AMI 2022 for $215,000 million and that included televisions for $42.8 million or ergonomic chairs for intensive use for more than $17.9 million. In response, the Public Ministry requested that the contract be annulled. This agreement seeks to create an energy loss control center that means $40,000 million a year for the District.
The agreement was signed to acquire equipment for the Smart Metering Center of the company that is in charge of the Energy Management, chaired until Saturday by Merino del Río Uribe. This resignation occurred after the departure of Juan Diego Flórez, general manager of the Company, and which Ospina accepted, noting that “his many and memorable successes and today with dignity and before processes to be clarified in personnel under his command, he decides to present his resignation, which I have accepted.” ”. The mayor stated that a reengineering of the personnel under his charge would be carried out.
A former director of the company told Portfolio that part of the scandal over the contract and the alleged cost overruns was a problem of “misinterpretation”, given that the televisions were not only these pieces of equipment but also included other high-specification technological equipment for this room that is part of a commitment to reduce losses.
However, the Union of Municipal Companies of Cali (Sintraemcali), has pointed out that the irregularities of the contracts are not only in equipment costs. The organization pointed out that the contracting process was carried out in such a way that there was only one qualified bidder. Added to this is that the Attorney General’s Office affirmed that 57% of the District’s contracts were delivered directly; that is, 75,509 worth more than $2.8 billion. The entity pointed out that some contracts of this type made by Emcali had to be made through competitive processes, due to the nature of the services to be contracted.
(They approve, in second debate, $18.3 billion for the Bogotá Metro).
Now, the union is also requesting the resignation of other senior managers such as Arturo Fernández, manager of the company’s aqueduct and New Business and Innovation Unit; Patricia Muñoz, technical deputy manager of the Energy Business Strategic Unit, among others. Even Jhonny Trejos, a union leader, said that the mayor should leave his post since he has not acted proactively in the face of corruption allegations.
For this, Sintraemcali maintains a peaceful protest at the headquarters of the Municipal Administrative Center until effective measures are taken against the complaints and petitions.
In the midst of the controversy that arose and after the departure of Flórez, the management of the public company was temporarily entrusted to Fulvio Leonardo Soto, by the mayor. He is a person close to Ospina and who also works as director of the Treasury. Soto presented a work plan to establish if there was corruption in the allocation of said contracts. One of the first decisions he reported was the suspension of the performance of the contract and the possible derogation.
Added to this action will be a comprehensive audit that was recommended by the company’s Board.
He stated that today, Tuesday, citizens will be able to know all the details, in addition to asking questions related to the processes. He also assured that all the documents required by the authorities have been presented.
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The contractor’s response
Given the controversy, the company Unión Temporal AMI 2022, responded for the indicated costs. In accordance with what is stated in the technical specification of the contract, the details of each of the associated costs are indicated. For example, they assert that they are not only two televisions, but that in addition to the monitors (seen in the image), each one should have Wi-Fi connectivity, two audio systems and two Click Share wireless collaboration systems.
Regarding the chairs, the company highlighted that it is equipment with special requirements. “It must comply with 11 special requirements and certain design standards that make its design, manufacture and importation necessary,” they communicated.
In fact, Emcali highlighted the special features, which include specific guarantees for between 2 and 5 years; in addition to a minimum capacity of 400 pounds, gas pressure suspension spring, adjustable lumbar support system with air to support the spinal discs, among other technical aspects.
Daniela Morales Soler
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