After a day marked by escalating tensions with the Camioneros union regarding garbage collection, Jorge Macri announced the cancellation of pre-awarded contracts to towing companies in Buenos Aires. In a direct critique, he pointed fingers at Horacio RodrÃguez Larreta’s administration, citing irregularities in the bidding processes.
Macri highlighted a troubling timeline, stating, “A pre-award occurred on December 7, the same day I took office. Some signatures were made on the 11th by officials who were no longer in their positions. This is part of an internal investigation we are conducting.” He expressed uncertainty about the presence of wrongdoing, noting that someone might have signed documents they shouldn’t have after leaving office. “To me, this is wrong. They signed after they lost their authority,” he said.
When pressed by journalist Paulino RodrÃguez about the previous administration’s conduct, Macri replied, “I believe they did act improperly, but that will be defined by our internal investigation. We will see if this leads to legal proceedings. If there’s wrongdoing, that’s another matter. If it’s clarified that a digital signature was made before formal documentation, that could have happened. However, if it was signed right as I was assuming office, that’s at least disrespectful.”
Macri also condemned the highly favorable contracts awarded to the new towing companies. “For 21 years, there were no bids, and companies extended their contracts. Last July, some businesses won bids at an exceedingly high price. Today, a towing fee costs 25,000 pesos, but had I charged based on what was bid, it would have been 181,250 pesos—seven times more. But there’s more to this story.”
He elaborated on the extreme advantages for those companies. “This is the only concession, apart from waste management, awarded for ten years. Other contracts are typically for four years. We provide an upfront payment of 8 million dollars to these firms for equipment, even before they start operations. We guarantee 24,000 tows per month, regardless of whether they actually perform them. Even if citizens become better educated and fewer cars are illegally parked over ten years, we still pay them. It’s a deal where I supply the funds, guarantee the market, and they profit more than double what it costs me to handle it myself.”
On this matter, he added, “I don’t intend to maintain this forever under state management. What I’m saying is that I won’t allocate it this way. It’ll remain under the city’s management, but I don’t rule out holding a new bid. In the meantime, we ensure jobs for those currently employed, and we will continue providing the service ourselves. There were three companies handling three separate zones.”
This situation is still developing.
Image and News Source: https://www.infobae.com/politica/2024/07/22/jorge-macri-denuncio-irregularidades-de-la-gestion-de-larreta-en-la-licitacion-de-las-gruas-de-acarreo/
