The expense for the ‘failed plans’

Ecuadornews:

The vestiges of the failed economic relationship between Ecuador and Venezuela still take their toll. Two of the three bilateral companies generate expenses paid by the Ecuadorian government.

The Great National Mining is an example. Although its status in the Superintendence of Companies is “inactive”, and has no new investment projects, it still uses the state budget. Until June of this year, the Great National Mining Company spent 677,662.53 dollars.

In total, by 2018, the binational company has 1.5 million dollars, according to its annual planning.

In what did the inactive company spend? The main item is the payment of salaries: 419,789 dollars were used for “salaries, liquidations and advances” in the first half of the year.

The Gran Nacional Minera, which has a 51% stake in Ecuador and 49% in Venezuela, received two projects in 2011: El Reventador and Mompiche. Both are still audits and studies after seven years of work.

A similar case is that of the Pacific Refinery. The project that President Lenin Moreno declared bankrupt still generates millionaire expenses for the State.

According to the Superintendence of Companies, the binational company is also inactive. The lack of a project, however, did not prevent 2.7 million dollars from being used in six months. The entire amount was for current expenses of the proposal promoted by former President Rafael Correa.

That is, almost three million dollars of public resources were sent to a public company that will disappear if the construction of the new Manabí Refinery is completed.

On the subject, the Minister of Foreign Trade, Pablo Campana, announced that there is interest from investors to win the project without the participation of Venezuela. Still missing a presidential decree (offered since January) to make the new investment.

EXPRESO consulted with the representatives of the mixed company Refinería del Pacífico about the use of public resources. In the entity explained that the designated spokesman is the majority shareholder of the refinery: the public company Petroecuador.

In the state, however, there is no information about the project that will not be made and the request was addressed to the Ministry of Hydrocarbons. Until the closing of this edition there was no response from that State portfolio.

The third company from Ecuador and Venezuela also failed. The Napo River is in liquidation and is a struggle between the two countries for pending payments. Petróleos de Venezuela (shareholder of Río Napo) asks for more than 380 million dollars to close the company. Ecuador, as reported in this newspaper on July 2, will not recognize more than 80 million. (I)

Source: https://www.expreso.ec/actualidad/gobiernoecuador-salarios-empresaspublicas-ministerios-LB2311940