In 259 selection processes carried out by the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Canal del Dique (Cardique), whose purpose was the cleaning, re-cleaning and maintenance of canals, streams and other hydrographic basins, as well as the maintenance and reinforcement of the jarillones in 21 entities territorial of the department of Bolívar; the free competition inherent to public contracting would have been violated.
This was stated this Wednesday by the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce, which in its role as national authority for the protection of competition imposed a sanction of $3,106,861 on 51 market agents and 19 natural persons, who would have been cartelized in the selection processes , by distributing the contracts through the formation of 53 sub-carousels.
Another six officials and former officials of Cardique were sanctioned, as they would have facilitated and tolerated anti-competitive conduct by participating in the structuring of the selection, preparation and approval processes of their specifications in favor of the market agents that participated as bidders.
The charges were filed against Olaff Puello Castillo, Katherine Martelo Fernández, Saray Cecilia Hernández Durán, Dalis Esther Herrera Vargas, Fredyy Rodgers and Bernabé Maldonado Maldonado.
The case
The Superindustry explained that it began its administrative action after a communication from the Comptroller General of the Republic, received in January 2018, through which the results of the advanced audit report in Cardique were transferred.
“This document emphasized the absence of planning and objective selection in the selection processes carried out by Cardique in 2016, a situation that allegedly would have generated an improper execution of the contracts and, therefore, a possible embezzlement of resources. public,” the authority said.
He added: “Similarly, the Attorney General’s Office, on June 18, 2018, sent copies to the Superindustry to inform it about the investigation it was carrying out regarding the alleged irregularities in the hiring by Cardique, as a consequence of the aforementioned report of the Comptroller’s Office.
The illegal agreement was possible thanks to the facilitation and collaboration of some Cardique officials, who through the preparation, projection and structuring of public tenders facilitated the coordination, participation and distribution of the 259 selection processes.
Superintendency of Industry and Commerce.
In the investigation carried out by the Superindustry, it was determined “that those sanctioned executed an agreement to act in a coordinated manner and distribute the contracts derived from 259 Cardique selection processes, in which they eliminated the competitive pressures inherent to public contracting and were awarded contracts. deliberate and predetermined. The behavior was carried out through the structuring and implementation of 53 “sub-carousels” that allowed those sanctioned to share the selection processes and coordinate their participation.
For the entity, “the illegal agreement was possible thanks to the facilitation and collaboration of some Cardique officials, who through the preparation, projection and structuring of public tenders facilitated the coordination, participation and distribution of the 259 selection processes” .
He warned: “With the sanctioned conduct, not only free economic competition was affected, but also the principles of equality and objective selection, typical of state contracting, which aim to allocate public resources efficiently, in this case, in the contracts related to the cleaning, re-cleaning and maintenance of canals, streams and other hydrographic basins, as well as the maintenance and reinforcement of the jarillones in 21 territorial entities of the department of Bolívar”.
Against the decision of the Superindustry proceeds the appeal for reconsideration.
The Superindustry concluded: “Taking into account that it was evidenced that the anticompetitive agreement sanctioned here could materialize thanks to the facilitating behavior by a number of high-level Cardique officials, it is considered necessary to alert the aforementioned entity and invite it to implement a compliance program in free competition, in order to pay attention to the behavior of its officials and the proponents of its processes, in order to prevent future anti-competitive behaviors such as those analyzed.
The appeal for reconsideration proceeds against the decision. So far, Cardique has not commented on the alleged recruitment poster.
Read here the complete report with the names of those sanctioned and the amount of their sanctions.