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Councilor Jorge Alves presented, on February 26, the request to resign from his mandate at the Coimbra City Council.
In a statement sent to the NDC, the autarky announced “that, taking into account the duties enshrined in the Statute of Local Elect, it was immediately accepted by the Mayor of Coimbra”, without giving further details of what motivated the decision.
Jorge Alves saying Today to Notícias de Coimbra that the “reasons for leaving are purely personal” and “health”.
However, Notícias de Coimbra knows that Jorge Alves left the council after being confronted by Manuel Machado with the suspicion that the Coimbra Municipal Transportation Service (SMTUC) had entered into several contracts with a company founded by his son and a nephew of the city. councilor.
Jorge Alves was president, representing the autarky, of the SMTUC board of directors that will be the epicenter of the political earthquake that shakes the socialist executive in Coimbra.
It all started with a cartoon from the Movimento de Humor, written by José Gomes, connoted with the Somos Coimbra movement, which says: “So, Mr. Alves, is it true that the Move-me GPS and the bus hotspots no longer work? I already asked my son and my nephew to fix it … but the boys are busy with the contracts. “
The question raised would refer to contracts for an approximate value of 200 thousand euros entered into between SMTUC and the company STRA, SA, whose founder was Jorge Alves’ eldest son and nephew.
Given the existence of public contracts for the company of his son and nephew with the Municipal Transport Service of Coimbra (SMTUC), which led until Friday, the former councilor affirms that “he does not comment on cartoons” and reveals that he will do so. professional functions in the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by Notícias de Coimbra if he is aware of these contracts and of the existence of a possible conflict of interest, the former councilor limited himself to repeating: “I am not commenting on the nonsense that cartoon sites do.”
Jorge Alves also told the NDC that he was the target of “personal and political attacks, which they only intend to address” and reiterates that “they do not deserve comment and will be treated in the right places”, but says that the main reason is in health and reveals that He’s been depressed for a few days, “adding that” the camera session wasn’t going very well.
News from Coimbra know that Rui Maranhas Alves da Luz Sales, administrator of the company STRA SA, is one of the sons of Jorge Maranha Alves.
The company was founded in 2012 (under the name of Media Corp Lda) by Rui Maranhas Alves da Luz Sales and Ricardo Nuno Conde Margalho (Jorge Alves’ nephew), with a share capital of 2 euros. They share the administration of STRA, now with a capital of 63,786.02 euros, with Krishna Visvanathan.
Rui and Ricardo
NDC found that STRA signed 4 contracts with SMTUC, the first dating from 2016, at a time when Rosa Reis Marques led the Board of Directors, whose members were Jorge Alves and Francisco Queirós.
This first contract for “Supply and installation of a system for the management of vehicle maintenance through telematics” has a value of 44,000.00 euros + VAT.
In 2017, 2018 and 2019, STRA and SMTUC signed 3 more contracts for a total value of 171,505.00 euros + VAT.
Jorge Alves assumed the presidency of SMTUC in December 2017 (with Regina Bento and Francisco Queirós as members).
In the object of the contracts we can read that they were intended for “Supply and installation of equipment for predictive maintenance of vehicles in real time, Direct Adjustment Ref. AD / 1542/2018 – Provision of services for predictive maintenance of vehicles in real time, Supply and installation of equipment for the predictive maintenance of vehicles in real time, using real data from mechanical components ”.
The We are Coimbra movement is here reacted leaving stating that the The very recent departure of the president of the SMTUC Board of Directors is “an inevitable consequence of the trajectory of decomposition in which the services are found as a consequence of a very incompetent management, which is only less visible because the pandemic has reduced the I use and use SMTUC lines so frequently ”.
“Through a simple consultation with http://www.base.gov.pt/It is concluded that SMTUC made acquisitions from STRA SA (a company whose Chairman of the Board of Directors, Rui Maranhas Alves da Luz Sales, is Jorge Alves’ son) for a global amount of more than 200 thousand euros, always by direct agreement.
“Now, all these acquisitions were carried out with Jorge Manuel Maranhas Alves as a member of the SMTUC Board of Directors, who has presided since the end of 2017, but who has been a member since 2013, which is, in our opinion, a clear violation of the law, which we hope the Public Ministry will investigate in depth, concludes Somos Coimbra.
“If confirmed, the case will constitute a double illegality (for violation of the Legal Regime of Incompatibilities and Impediments of the Holders of Political Positions and High Public Positions) in the management of the Municipalized Services of Urban Transport of Coimbra, and that directly involves councilor Jorge Alves, now dismissed (fired?) ”, Says the PSD, which “vehemently repudiates the deafening silence of the mayor of Coimbra, who has not yet come out to explain the situation.”
But what does STRA do? The reader asks. Good question! Talking about Stra will be the same as talking about Stratio.
“Using space technology, introducing the concept of predictability, Stratio developed a product that enabled SMTUCs to reduce maintenance costs by 12%, minus 350 hours of forced vehicle downtime, an 8% decrease in fuel costs. and a 93-ton reduction in polluting gas emissions. . All this was possible because problems began to be detected in the vehicles before they occurred ”.
Stratio presents itself as the world’s leading predictive maintenance solution.
Contacted today by Lusa, the mayor of Coimbra, Manuel Machado, said that the decision of councilman Jorge Alves is due to “reasons of his own personal forum” and refused to give more details.
In news from Coimbra it is known that Manuel Machado confronted the then councilor with the content of the cartoon and that Jorge Alves refused to discuss the issue, which would have forced the leader of the municipality to remove his responsibilities and request the resignation of number four of the municipal executive.
According to the autarky note, the powers that were delegated to the resigning councilor “were invoked by the Mayor of Coimbra”, namely: Municipal Police, Firefighters, Municipal Council of Security and Civil Protection, Education, Social Action, Child Protection and Youth and Justices of the Peace.
“Considering the strategic importance in the municipal municipal structure of the Municipal Urban Transport Services of Coimbra (SMTUC), which is managed corporately, whose mission is to provide a public passenger transport service adapted to the needs of the populations, the appointment of the Presidency of the Board of Directors will take place in due course “, says the municipality.
The mayor’s office “reiterates its trust in councilors Regina Bento and Francisco Queirós, who, also as members of the SMTUC Board of Directors, have carried out their duties with competence, probity and suitability in the pursuit of the public interest,” the statement reads where Manuel Machado puts his hands on the fire for the two chosen.
Notícias de Coimbra expects SMTUC to indicate the role played in this contract by former and current administrators Rosa Reis Marques, Jorge Alves. Francisco Queirós and Regina Bento.
Somos Coimbra has already said that it expects “from the other two members of the SMTUC Board of Directors, Regina Bento and Francisco Queirós, quick and clear explanations about their participation in these matters, since they approved the same contracts, being co-responsible in Procedures little clear, which has now led to the resignation of councilor Jorge Alves, so they cannot continue to occupy their seats on the council and in the SMTUC ”.
News from Coimbra contacted STRA, via Stratio, but the company has yet to comment.
The data to which NDC had access indicates that the current STRA SA was already a limited liability company and began its activity under the name of Media Corp Lda.
It was found that relatives of Jorge Alves’ son were or are shareholders of this limited company.
News in development
