Santo Domingo, RD.
The General Director of Public Procurement, Carlos Pimentel, assured that Maxy Montilla, brother of Cándida Montilla, wife of former president Danilo Medina, sI could have contracts with the state.
Pimentel’s claim comes after the millionaire contracts of Maxy and Alexander Montilla Sierra, the Cándida brothers, with Empresas Distribuidoras de Electricidad came to light –Edenorte, Edesur, Edeeste – and the Rural and Suburban Electrification Unit (UERS).
Likewise, Pimentel assured that while the law does not prohibit it, the investigation carried out in this case could reveal some kind of irregularity in the contracts with these companies.
“Yes, I could have contracts, but that is a fundamental and simple element of the Dominican Republic’s recruitment system, then it gets more complex and deeper and other situations will probably be discovered along the way beyond what the administrative system represents for purchases and contracts, ”he said during an interview about the El Día program.
He clarified that the Procurement and Contracts Act provides that family members with the fourth degree of kinship may have contractual relationships with the state and other institutions than those in which their family member is minister or director.
When the former first lady’s brother was interviewed by journalist Alicia Ortega about the El Informe program, he denied that his relationship with former president Medina had provided him with the means to win the bids he had won from the electricity distribution companies.
He assured that his earnings are due not to his family ties, but to the work he has done for many years, even before Medina’s efforts.
Likewise, he indicated that the initial success of his companies as state suppliers dates back to 2009, where he claimed he had the vision to venture into the Chinese market to establish a commercial structure there.
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Carlos Pimentel also reported that since arriving at the entity, he has canceled 11 procurement and contracting procedures and that 21 state suppliers have been disabled.
Likewise, he stated that 160 officials had their supplier registration suspended.
He also indicated that Public Contracts is investigating the Social Policy Coordination Office, headed by Francisco Antonio “Tony” Peña Guaba, to deliver 103 million 217 thousand pesos to Dominican artists.
In the same way, other inquiries are being carried out on the office of the mayor of La Romana and on contracting companies for waste collection, that of Boca Chica and that of Santiago.