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Santo Domingo. – In clear violation of Law 340-06 on Public Procurement and Contracting, the Government Office of Information and Communications Technologies (OGTIC), directed by Bartolomé Pujals, awarded a contract of more than 295 million pesos for the rental of a premises non-existent in Punta Cana to a company whose final beneficiary is the Minister of Housing, Carlos Bonilla.
A report presented on the program Todo la Verdad, hosted by journalist Odalis Castillo and broadcast on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. on VTV, channel 32, details how the contract was awarded to Jacinto Badui Howley-Dumit Serulle, who was not He was the owner of the premises, since the Velero At Punta Cana trust had rented it to him for 20 years with an option to purchase.
The investigation team investigated the Velero At Punta Cana project and discovered that the property title is in the name of the Real Estate and Guarantee Trust for the Development of the Velero At Punta Cana Project. In addition, that this trust had in 2019 as manager of the trustor companies to Carlos Alberto Bonilla Sánchez, current Minister of Housing, then to José Ricardo Mercado Sánchez, but kept Carlos Alberto Bonilla Sánchez as beneficiary, according to modifications to the contract of the year 2021.
Another notable aspect of this questionable process is that the OGTIC made all possible arrangements to “accommodate” the trust and ensure that it won the contract. Since Mr. Jacinto Badui Howley-Dumit Serulle was evidently not the owner of the premises that he was going to lease to the Dominican State, the OGTIC Purchasing Commission simply “recommended” correcting this situation through a letter of consent from the owners. This is how the tenant Jacinto Badui Howley-Dumit Serulle presented said letter from the management company of the Velero At Punta Cana trust.
Another adjustment that the OGTIC made was to the terms of reference, including an amendment to eliminate the word “turnkey” because when that term is used it is because something is ready for delivery and suitable for its intended use. And obviously this was not the case.
A place that does not exist
The report presented on VTV, channel 32 also showed how the OGTIC's justifying technical report described the premises as if it met all operational and structural requirements, when it was not even built.
When the team of journalists from the Todo la Verdad program visited the area, they verified that the Velero At Punta Cana shopping plaza signed the contract with the OGTIC when the construction of the plaza had not yet begun. A seller of the project stated that “the premises will not be ready for now; The hypermarket will be built first and there will be about four months left to develop the plaza.”
That is to say, the OGTIC awarded more than 295 million pesos to a tenant who has a 20-year contract for a premises that he does not yet own. This means that it has a contract extended for so long with a good that had not yet started, and that in turn it would use it primarily to subcontract with an institution of the Dominican State.
As a confession that the premises are not yet ready, on October 14, 2024, Mr. Jacinto Badui sent a communication to OGTIC requesting the early resignation of the OGTIC-CCC-PEEX-2024-001 contract, alleging that the owner trust did not could deliver the premises on time due to force majeure. He also cited personal health reasons and economic fluctuations as obstacles to developing the project successfully. The commitment date for delivery of the premises will be from March 2025, as established in the communication.
The process
The process for contracting that location to install a GOB Point in Punta Cana began in December 2023 under the tender number OGTIC-CCC-PEPU-2023-0019. Initially, the process was declared void, but in August 2024 it was resumed under the new number OGTIC-CCC-PEEX-2024-0001.