Raimundo do Rosário denies LRT data records were hidden

The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, has responded to an opinion article that accused the defunct Transportation Infrastructure Office (GIT) of trying to hide data records on works related to the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system.

In a press statement, the Office of the Secretary denied the accusation and slammed the opinion piece as containing “fake news.”

The most recent Commission of Audit (CA) report said LRT electric power cables had failed to meet both national standards and international regulations and had noted other problems at the managerial and decision-making level.

In the statement from Rosário’s Office, the Secretary said that, in an recent opinion piece, an unnamed person used the CA report incorrectly, taking “quotes out of context” to “create an erroneous idea” that, for instance, the GIT had deleted files from an alleged hard drive to hide problems with the construction of the LRT system.

The Secretary said that when the GIT was closed in October 2019, all documents related to the works under the GIT’s responsibility were recorded on a hard drive to be transferred to the new bureau in charge, the Public Works Bureau (DSOP).

He added that such files are encrypted and require the installation of a particular document management software to become accessible, which was done in this case.

Rosário denied that the files had been deleted and then “been able to be recovered later” by the DSOP.

The Secretary also responded on the case of the substandard electric cable, noted by the CA, saying that the materials submitted by the supplier were done according to the tender documents.

“The public tender for the construction of the LRT system was launched in 2009, meaning that the content of the proposal was drawn up by the technical standards and requirements at that time,” he noted.

He said, contrary to the implications of the opinion piece, there was no “secrecy” or “unlawful exchange” of the product for another that did not meet the standard.

He also noted that the cables were exchanged by agreement with the supplier without having any additional cost to the public purse.

The CA report said the supplier’s final test did not match the specifications of the cables acquired and installed.

The report also noted that the project consultant and the construction contractor were both aware of the issue but accepted the cables and installed them anyway, which the CA described as an obvious flaw in management and control.

The replacement of the faulty cables that have caused several system breakdowns led to the total suspension of the LRT service for about six months.

The CA said there was a need to enforce an effective mechanism to ensure appropriate decision-making from the different management levels to safeguard safety, practicality and economic interests.

The statement from the Rosário’s Office ended by stating that the government has been committed to solving the issues and accepting all constructive criticism and opinions, however, “it will never accept statements made out of context that aim to provoke society’s disagreement with the work that the government develops.”