Prosecutor's Office accuses former mayor of Sincelejo and two other officials for alleged addressing of a contract

This Sunday the Attorney General's Office formally charged Jairo Alfredo Fernández Queep, former mayor of Sincelejo, Sucre. The former official is charged with the crime of contract without compliance with legal requirements.

The press release issued by the entity also mentions the accusation of two officials who would accompany Fernández in the crime: former Secretary of Health, Remberto Carlos Gómez Martínez, and the manager of the San Francisco de Asís Hospital in Sincelejo, Salva Rapag Carmichael.

The facts for which former civil servants are investigated relate to the conclusion of the interadministrative contract for the provision of services 004 of 19 March 2015. There, the Fernández administration had committed itself to “carrying out food and nutrition security activities; comprehensive care for childhood diseases; sexual and reproductive health programs; and oral health,” explained the research body.

The contract established that the amount set for these activities would be 420 million pesos and the execution time would be eight months. It was also agreed that refreshments should be provided to children between six months and three years old, and women from vulnerable communities, indigenous people, people of African descent and displaced population. In addition to creating a subprogramme on nursing mothers, sexual health, oral and mental health.

The findings of the Prosecutor's Office

The evidence from the Prosecutor's Office indicated that the then mayor determined that the contract should be delivered directly to San Francisco de Asís de Sincelejo, without an objective selection process or the receipt of other commercial proposals. With this, “the healthcare center benefited without submitting a formal proposal or the presentation of its portfolio of services,” the entity explained.

On the other hand, the investigating body stressed that the hospital, allegedly, “did not have the technical or operational capacity to comply with the provisions”. For this reason, “four subcontracts were made to guarantee the supply of medical products and food, transportation, stationery and advertising materials,” explained the Prosecutor's Office. The fixed amount of 420 million pesos amounted to 572 million pesos with the outsourcing.

The former Secretary of Health, Remberto Carlos Gómez Martínez, was the one who liquidated the contract and would have certified compliance with everything agreed, without having the documents that supported the activities that were allegedly carried out.

The investigation was led by a prosecutor from the Specialized Directorate Against Corruption, who determined that these findings “wilfully violated the principles of objective selection, planning, accountability, economy, transparency and publicity,” the Prosecutor's Office stated in the document. There is evidence that particular interest was imposed on existing public procurement rules.”

For her part, a criminal judge from the Sincelejo Circuit assured that the preparatory hearings for the trial will begin in July.

It should be recalled that this case of corruption is an example of the concern that citizens have about how resources are managed in the country. According to the recent corruption perception index carried out by Transparency International, Colombia did not make much progress on this point because it ranks 87th out of 180 countries evaluated, with a score of 39 points out of 100.

While, a study by GfK, the global consultancy that offers knowledge from data and perspectives for smart corporate decision-making, noted that corruption is the first of the 10 most frequent concerns of Colombians. With 32.2% this problem tops the list, followed by crime with 31.9%.

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