Jorge Macri, the head of government for Buenos Aires, has raised concerns about potential irregularities in the bidding processes for towing companies during Horacio Rodríguez Larreta’s administration. “A pre-adjudication took place on December 7, the day I took office. Some signatures were finalized on the 11th, involving officials who were no longer in their positions. This is part of an internal investigation we are conducting,” Macri explained in an interview with LN+.
His comments came shortly after the announcement that the bidding process for towing services had been canceled. It was also revealed that the city would continue managing the service at less than half the cost specified in the original contract.
Macri expressed doubt about possible foul play, stating, “I don’t know if there was any underhandedness. Someone thought something was missing and signed it.” He criticized the timing of the signatures, indicating that it was improper for someone to sign documents after leaving office without the authority to do so.
He believes the Larreta administration acted improperly and stated, “I think so, but that will be determined by an internal investigation. We’ll see if it leads to legal action. If a crime was committed, that’s another matter.” He added, “If it’s clarified administratively that there was a digital signature before and it was later formalized on paper, that could have happened. Still, if it was signed on December 6 or 7 when they were leaving and I assumed office on the 7th, it was at least discourteous to me.”
The city government characterized the pre-adjudication as “onerous,” explaining that it would bind them to that agreement for the next ten years and require a public expenditure of $360 million. The deal included an advance payment of $8 million and mandated that the city government would incur the operational costs even if no towing was conducted.
Additionally, the government noted that earlier in 2023, this service had been pre-adjudicated to companies UTE-Ashira-Ecoba, Transporte 9 de Julio, and UTE SAEM-Tránsito Rosario. They emphasized that the current economic climate forced the city to reassess costs, optimize resources, and maintain service standards.
Source: https://www.perfil.com/noticias/actualidad/jorge-macri-investigara-al-gobierno-de-rodriguez-larreta-por-la-licitacion-de-las-gruas-de-acarreo.phtml
