Commission criticizes lack of transparency from the Alckmin government.
The group says that the movement created by the governor a month ago in response to Siemens' allegations of a cartel in the metro-railway sector was a marketing ploy; "In terms of results, the work has been largely ineffective," said Paulo Itacarambi, vice-president of the Ethos Institute.
247 – The commission created last month by Governor Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB) to respond to suspicions of corruption in the state is already being criticized by its own members.
Composed of 12 civil society entities and coordinated by the General Administration Ombudsman (CGA) - the state's control and oversight body - the Transparency Movement was created when Siemens denounced the existence of a cartel in train and subway contracts with PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) administrations since the government of Mario Covas (1998).
To try and distance his government from the scheme, Alckmin announced that the state would sue the German company so that public funds could be reimbursed. The contracts in the metro-rail system were overpriced by up to 30%.
However, members of the commission say that the 'movement' was created by the governor to gain publicity. "In terms of results, the work has been largely ineffective," stated Paulo Itacarambi, vice-president of the Ethos Institute, which is part of the commission. According to him, the Inspector General's Office has not been releasing the necessary data.
"That name (Transparency) was the idea of some marketing person from the Palácio dos Bandeirantes," added Claudio Weber Abramo, president of the NGO Transparência Brasil.