Fortunati wants to resume BRT works and demands action from the Court of Auditors.
The mayor of Porto Alegre has asked the TCE-RS (Court of Accounts of Rio Grande do Sul) for a definitive ruling regarding the overpricing in adapting buses to the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) model; according to the Court, the city hall improperly charged R$ 1,2 million to the companies contracted for the service; the mayor says there were only differences in the method of calculating costs between the city hall and the Court.
RS247 – The mayor of Porto Alegre, José Fortunati (PDT), has asked the State Court of Auditors (TCE-RS) for a definitive ruling regarding the overpricing in adapting buses to the Bus Rapid Transit model. According to the Court, the city improperly charged R$ 1,2 million to the companies contracted to perform the service, which, as a result, filed an injunction in court. Now, the works are at a standstill.
"In practice, the works are stopped because the Court of Auditors has an injunction and the companies have another. That's the impasse. That's why I asked the full Court of Auditors to make a final decision on its view," Fortunati declared to Rádio Guaíba. According to the manager, the municipal executive will follow the Court of Auditors' determinations to ensure the continuity of the work. "If the companies go to court later, and decide otherwise, we will follow that second decision," he added.
Investigations point to two irregularities: one concerning service costs exceeding market prices, and the other related to overestimated quantities of asphalt removal (milling) by 100%, resulting from errors in measurement criteria.
According to the manager, the product prices were calculated based on indicators from Caixa Econômica Federal (a Brazilian bank). "When we launched the tender, we followed Caixa's price list because it's federal government financing, with payments made through the City Hall. There's another price list, from the Municipal Department of Public Works and Roads (SMOV). Some items have differences between the two price lists, such as milling," he added.
Still in the interview, Fortunati stated: "What the TCE (Court of Accounts) is saying is that the payment should be made according to the Smov (Municipal Secretariat of Public Works) table, while the Justice system considers that the bidding process was done using the Caixa (Brazilian Federal Savings Bank) table and must be fully paid. There is no overbilling. People are using this term inappropriately," he said.