In the Third Criminal Court with functions of control of guarantees of Valledupar, was charged by the 12th Sectional Prosecutor’s Office, the mayor of the municipality of Codazzi, Cesar, Omar Enrique Benjumea Ospinoaccused of the crime of contract without compliance with legal requirements.
According to the accusing body, in the exercise of his duties on January 15, 2021, the mayor entered into contract No. CUM-008-2020 with the company Ing. Construcciones y Consultorías M & C SAS, whose purpose was the construction, replacement and improvement of sewerage networks in the urban area of the municipality of Agustín Codazzi, with a duration of 4 months, for a value of $1,141,916,738.68.
The Prosecutor’s Office pointed out in this regard that the signing of this contract was made without fulfilling an essential requirement, which was to have entered into it directly, without having exhausted the bidding process highlighted in article 2 numeral 1 of Law 80 of 1993; In addition, it was protected by Decree 108 of October 30, 2020, by which the public calamity is declared on the occasion of the rainy season in the municipality of Agustín Codazzi, which was prepared and signed by Benjumea Ospino.
At the time, The accusing entity explained that the signing of the aforementioned contract violates the principle of transparency, since having signed it directly, Under the figure of manifest urgency, it did not allow the participation of other bidders, using Decree 108 of 2020 that was in force as an instrument, however; its continuity and application was subject to climate changes reported by the relevant authorities, and by the date this (the contract) was signed, there was no longer a winter wave, on the contrary, dry weather prevailedto such an extent that Ideam declared an orange alert for forest fires in that municipality.
Likewise, it determined that the project for the construction, replacement, and improvement of the sewerage networks in the urban area had been planned since June 2020, that is, before the start of the winter season in October of that same year.
Said complaint was made by Edwin José Oñate Dávila on January 15, 2021, For this reason, on July 17, 2023, before the judicial services center, a request for the formulation of the imputation was filed, which was scheduled for the month of July 2023 before the Third Criminal Court with functions of control of guarantees of Valledupar in the one who did not accept the charges.