The interim governor of , Ricardo Couto, ordered this Tuesday (15) a broad audit of state secretariat contracts with a value above R$1 million, in addition to limiting the carrying out of new tenders that do not have budgetary coverage.
The measure was announced in an extra edition of the Official Gazette, published hours after the Alerj (Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly) began the procedures for the election of a new president, a name that, according to the state Constitution, should occupy the Guanabara Palace.
Couto, however, remains in charge of the government at least until the conclusion of the trial in the (Federal Supreme Court) which determined that he will remain in office until the election of the buffer governor, who will command the state until December. The president of the court, Edson Fachin, encouraged him to assume “full powers” until the political scenario was defined.
The audit will be the responsibility of the Civil House, a department that Couto changed the holder of in the same DO. The interim governor appointed attorney Flávio Willeman to the position. Another body that will be responsible for the investigation will be the CGE (State Comptroller General), whose ownership was also changed by the judge as soon as he took over Guanabara.
The published decree states that the measure aims to adapt state expenses, reorganize the Executive Branch’s finances, reduce the hole in public accounts and ensure compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Law. The predicted deficit for this year is R$19 billion and is one of the judge’s biggest concerns.
With the new determination, the heads of all departments and agencies have a period of 15 working days to send a detailed report to the Civil House Secretariat and the CGE. This document should map the activities, programs and projects developed in the last year, in addition to listing the main contracts with values exceeding R$1 million.
Details of the staff were also required, including permanent employees, commissioned employees and outsourced workers, as well as information on ongoing bidding procedures, contracts signed without a start order or without resources allocated, and hiring carried out through emergency dismissal or non-enforceability.
One of the main focuses of the investigation will be the analysis of contracting without bidding carried out by the public administration. The decree determines the immediate establishment of a specific audit, under the coordination of the CGE, to verify the legality of these contracts.
The Controllership will have a period of 45 days to audit these agreements and, if it identifies irregularities, illegalities or risk of damage to the public treasury during the work, it must immediately communicate the situation to the acting governor for the adoption of urgent precautionary measures.
The text also establishes the prohibition of holding new tenders or starting the execution of new contracts without the prior identification of a specific and sufficient budgetary allocation to guarantee the full execution of contracts that are already in progress.
Couto also annulled a decree signed on the last day of former governor Cláudio Castro’s (PL) term before his resignation, which revoked the management plan for the APA (environmental protection area) of Tamoios, on Costa Verde. The act was criticized by environmentalists for reducing the protection of the area.
The measures were announced hours after the acting president of Alerj, Guilherme Delaroli, convened the College of Leaders to discuss the procedures for the election of the effective command of the Rio de Janeiro Legislature.
The future president of Alerj is prevented from taking over the state government by decision of the STF, which determined that Couto would remain in office until the election for the buffer governor. Maintaining the decision reverses the order of the line of succession provided for in the state Constitution.
The trial in the STF was interrupted with 4 votes to 1 in favor of the indirect vote, with the votes of 5 ministers still remaining. Minister Flávio Dino requested a review of the process, claiming that it was necessary to publish the ruling that impeached Castro.
The state government is not, at the moment, under the command of the president of Alerj because the position has been vacant since December, when Rodrigo Bacellar was arrested on suspicion of leaking information about an operation against former deputy TH Joias, suspected of links with Comando Vermelho.
Deputy Guilherme Delaroli (), vice-president of Alerj, provisionally assumed the presidency of the House, but cannot take over the Guanabara Palace as he is not the holder of the position. For this reason, the government is under the responsibility of Couto, president of the TJ-RJ and last in the line of succession provided for in the Rio de Janeiro Constitution.
The election for Alerj’s presidency will take place because Bacellar was impeached last month by the TSE in the same process that condemned Castro. With the command of the House officially vacant — before he was just removed — the election can take place.
Alerj even held an election in which it chose, by 45 votes, deputy Douglas Ruas (PL) as president. The act was annulled by the state court, because it occurred before the totalization of votes following Bacellar’s impeachment by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court). The recount, however, did not change the composition of the House.
