San Miguelito Mayor Questions AAUD Waste Collection Decision

The mayor of the San Miguelito district, Irma Hernández, questioned this Wednesday the decision of the Council of Ministers to authorize the Urban and Domestic Cleaning Authority (AAUD) to take over waste collection in this sector. According to the mayor, during the bidding process, she received a call from the Comptroller General of the Republic, Anel Flores, requesting a meeting with the owner of the outgoing company Revisalud to hear her considerations, so she questioned whether said action is correct, ethical, and in accordance with due process. Hernández requested that municipal autonomy and the already established processes, which are underway, be respected. “The work of the Comptroller's Office is to supervise, to ensure that contracts are well done, and that is a job that must be done very meticulously to defend the interests of national funds,” she emphasized. The official wonders how the cleaning fee will be charged, what the collection routes will be in the district, and what equipment they will rent in a period of just five days. “I am not going to allow the main need of the San Miguelito district to be used to benefit some companies or a few,” she expressed at a press conference. In this context, she asked the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, to repeal the resolution presented yesterday and to proceed with the endorsement of the three companies that were approved by the National Economic Council to start on January 19. Faced with these allegations, Flores explained that he only acted as an intermediary, as the owner of Revisalud had been trying to arrange a meeting with the mayor for several weeks without success. “This Comptroller's Office does not work under pressure.” Regarding the endorsement of the contracts, Flores indicated that at the time of the start of the Council of Ministers session at 3:30 in the afternoon, no contract corresponding to the three companies had entered the Comptroller's Office, so he assured that he cannot endorse documents that have not been presented. He also mentioned that the owners of the companies involved are concerned about the investments they have already made in the equipment acquired, printing of labels, hiring of personnel, and purchase of uniforms.