Agenor ignores the contract made by Iris with Saneago.
The deputy mayor states that the commission will investigate whether the agreement was actually made; "We don't know about that. That was a statement released by Saneago," he says; the state-owned company assures that the concession contract was signed by the former mayor from the PMDB party and that it would be valid until 2023.
Goiás 247_ The deputy mayor of Goiânia, Agenor Mariano (PMDB), says that the city hall is unaware of the contract that Iris Rezende allegedly signed guaranteeing Saneago as the provider of water distribution and treatment services in the capital until 2023.
“We don’t know about that. That was a statement released by Saneago. The Commission will investigate this to see who signed the last contract with the state-owned company. We have confirmation that this did not happen,” assures the PMDB member.
This Tuesday, Mayor Paulo Garcia signed a decree creating a Commission to investigate the quality of services performed by Saneago. "Saneago is one of our concessionaires. It manages a service that was entrusted to it. In fact, without bidding. There has never been a bidding process to perform this service. It was done for free. The Commission will prepare a report at the end of its work and deliver it to the mayor," he says.
Saneago has become the focus of a political dispute between the city government and the state government. Soon after taking office this year, Paulo Garcia, through Agenor, expressed his desire to terminate the concession contract with the state-owned company.
The notice from the City Hall generated repercussions, and in an official statement, Saneago responded, saying that it expects the commitment to be fulfilled. It also stated that the last contract was signed by former mayor Iris Rezende (PMDB) and is valid until 2023.
Saneago also announced that if the city government decides to terminate the contract, a fine will be charged. Agenor Mariano is emphatic when commenting on the alleged billion-dollar fine, speculated to be R$ 1,9 billion. “The press says there will be a fine if we break the contract. Who said there's a fine? In which contract is this fine mentioned? Who said this contract is worth anything? Who said Iris signed any contract in 2008? How can I pay a fine on a contract if the person benefiting from it never participated in a bidding process?” he challenges.
Politics
Behind the scenes, the Saneago case is seen as much more than just an issue of water treatment and distribution services. Government supporters interpret the city hall's actions as political maneuvers to make life difficult for Governor Marconi Perillo.
For some, this is a clear sign that Paulo Garcia really wants to be a candidate for governor and is willing to stake his claim. From the mayor's perspective, the argument is that Paulo is demonstrating personality and is not very willing to have a 100% republican relationship with Perillo. This contrasts with what Mayors Maguito Vilela (Aparecida de Goiânia) and Antônio Gomide (Anápolis) have done so far.