The match New Liberalismto which the mayor of Bogota, Carlos Fernando Galancalled this Wednesday for the resignation of the Colombian foreign minister, Alvaro Leyvaafter the Attorney General’s Office (Public Ministry) ordered his suspension from office for three months.
“Given the decision made by the Attorney General’s Officeto suspend the chancellor Alvaro Leyvafrom the New Liberalism we ask you to resign“said the director of that party, Juan Manuel Galanbrother of the mayor.
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The Attorney General’s Office charged Leyva and suspended him for three months for possible irregularities that occurred during the bidding for a contract for the manufacture of passports.
According to the attorney general, Daisy White Hairthe Disciplinary Instruction Room of the Public Ministry suspended Leyva “to avoid the possible repetition of the disciplinary offenses attributed to him, taking into account his role as organizer of the expenditure and because he is also the one who is directing the new bidding process for passports”.
“It is very serious as a precedent for the country’s foreign policy, for a State policy such as foreign policy, that we question the figure of the chancellor of the Republic.”Galán added.
That is why he insisted that Leyva must resign, “that he be removed from office and that a foreign minister be appointed to conduct a strategic policy for the nation, such as foreign policy.”.
Canceled contract
Last September, the Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation against Leyva and the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, Jose Antonio Salazarfor irregularities in the cancellation of the tender to issue passports.
The Foreign Ministry then indicated that the tender was annulled because, according to other companies interested in the tender, there is no free competition since in the last 17 years the same firm, Thomas Greg & Sonshas been in charge of producing Colombian passports and visa labels.
For this reason, on September 12, the Foreign Ministry suspended the hearing in which it was going to define whether the tender was still in the hands of Thomas Greg & Sons or if, on the contrary, it was declared void due to the lack of bidders.
Twenty days later, Leyva himself resorted to the figure of “manifest urgency” to prolong the contract in question, while “the immediate call for a new fully guaranteed tender” to avoid delays in the issuance of these travel documents.
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As the contract with Thomas Greg & Sons still had three years remaining, the company, after failing to reach a conciliation agreement with the Government, announced last December a lawsuit against the State for 117,000 million pesos (about 30 million today’s dollars).
The Colombian president, Gustavo Petroassured after learning of the decision of the Attorney General’s Office that it is a maneuver to not let a “popular, democratic government”.
“They are not going to let us govern, well of course, it is the mentality of those who (are) used to leaving people abandoned. They do not want there to be an example of demonstration of what a popular government is, a democratic government.”said Petro, who did not explain the steps he will follow after that decision.
