The financial platform left fines for $ 22.9 million

Ecuadornews:

The inheritance of the Financial Platform is not limited to the construction failures denounced by EXPRESO this week. There are also a series of fines and glosses determined by the Comptroller General of the State against the public officials who promoted the project during the Government of former President Rafael Correa. In total, there are more than 22.9 million dollars to be paid.

That money, although it was established by the competent authorities, still cannot be recovered in favor of the State. There are procedures, processes and legal steps that prevent cancellation.

Why are there fines? The Comptroller’s Office prepared two special reports regarding the platform that cost more than 204 million dollars. The first, published after the departure of Carlos Pólit from the entity, determined that obtaining the resources to carry out the construction was not transparent. The same procedures established by the correísta government were not complied with.

“By not using the resources of credit for the platforms, financial obligations were generated” unnecessary. This amount amounted to $ 163,346 and that gloss was awarded to the former Minister of Finance, Fausto Herrera.

The same examination established that “for the breach of the legal and regulatory dispositions regarding the management of public indebtedness, administrative responsibilities were established for 66,218 dollars, against 15 officials of the Ministry of Finance and the National Secretariat of Planning and Development (Senplades) ) “.

In a second examination, from March of last year, there were more alarming data and fines. The Comptroller reviewed the engineering and construction works of the questioned platform. There it was established that there were errors in the design and in the construction. Three public officials and the Chinese company CAMCE -which offered an official response to this Journal that has not yet arrived- received a gloss for 22.6 million dollars.

Fines and glosses were also established for more than 70,000 dollars against some 15 officials for the non-compliance with the quality of the materials, lack of technical studies and arbitrary hiring.

According to the National Works Recruitment Service (Secob), these observations, at least on a technical level, have already been handled by the Chinese construction company. Repairs and adjustments, said the entity, were solved although, as noted by this newspaper, there are still water leaks and other problems.

Platforms

Works that were nothing

In the exam published in 2017, the contracting of credits for the construction of three other governmental platforms was analyzed: Social Development Management, Strategic Sectors and Public Companies. The Comptroller General of the State determined the following conclusions: “For its construction, it was planned to use the lines of credit agreed with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for 124.8 million dollars and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for 80 millions of dollars. The platforms of Strategic Sectors and Public Companies did not have the approved feasibility studies necessary to initiate the process of public indebtedness, in accordance with Article 56 of the Organic Code of Planning and Public Finance, an aspect not considered by the Minister of Finance nor by the Debt Committee. “

Only the social platform was built.

Responsible

Real estate

The Financial Platform has been in operation for approximately two years. “Inmobiliar is in charge of its administration and the occupation of the areas is part of its competence”.

Secob

The financial platform, which is in use by public institutions, must be delivered to Secob by the Chinese company CAMCE. According to this state entity, “the work has a record of provisional reception.” (I)

Source: https://www.expreso.ec/actualidad/obras-plataforma-financiera-contraloria-construccion-KL2629682