UNDP is demarcating computer delivery in pre-election week

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) yesterday demarcated itself from the handover of computers by Nayib Bukele’s government this week, ahead of Sunday’s election.

After the Minister of Education, Carla Hanania de Varela, expressed yesterday that the purchase of the equipment was made through the United Nations, the office of the organization came out in the wake of the assertion.

SEE: UN confirms purchase of 46,422 computers with government funds, but its delivery had to be after elections

“When I say that we have not bought it is because we have done it through the UN, with GOES funds. Why have we done so? For transparency and for all the additional advantages that this brings us,” said the official via Twitter.

In response to what Varela’s minister said, El Diari d’Avui contacted the UNDP Communications Office in El Salvador to see if the laptops that the government has been delivering since February 22, 6 days before the legislative elections and municipal, are the same that were acquired with the support of the United Nations body.

The communications office closed doubts and assured that the computers that the government is distributing this week are not the same ones that have been acquired through the entity, as hinted at by the Minister of Education.

All computers will come with Google Classroom pre-installed. They are branded Dell, Hewllet Packard and Lenovo. photo EDH

UNDP said in a statement yesterday that it has supported the procurement of “a batch of 46,422 computers, valued at $ 13,525,049.70, including shipping and insurance costs, funded by funds of the Government of El Salvador “.

According to data provided by the United Nations, the cost per computer is $ 291.

But in addition the UNDP response reconfirmed what it stated in the statement: that “the start of delivery staggered in the warehouses of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, (will be) at the end of March” .

The UNDP brief states that this batch of 46,422 computers was betrayed “in stages from the last week of March 2021”, and not just the week before the elections, where the Government it can take a political cut to these deliveries in the face of the population.

READ MORE: Computer delivery begins with second and third year high school students in the public sector

Since Monday, the government has been handing out computers to students in the public education network, following a press conference attended by President Nayib Bukele; the Minister of Education, Carla Hanania de Varela; and the Secretary of Innovation, Vladimir Handal.

While students, teachers, parents and teachers’ unions external to the positive delivery of computers, officials are required to comply with the law.

The Electoral Code prohibits officials from publishing inauguration works of any kind one month before the election so as not to affect the voter’s intention at the last minute, but President Nayib Bukele and government officials have tried to override that ban in announcing the delivery of computers to schools on Sunday night and with the “enable” at the Liberty bypass last week, have noted lawyers consulted by the Daily Today.

“During the thirty days prior to the date set for the elections, neither the Government of the Republic, nor the Municipal Councils and other autonomous entities, may publish in any private or state media the contracts, inaugurations of works of national infrastructure or of any other nature that they have carried out, that they carry out or that they plan to carry out in compliance with the provision or assistance services to which the State is obliged “, establishes article 178 of the Electoral Code.

In his speech at the handover ceremony to students, President Bukele said the government has invested $ 450 million in the purchase of this technological equipment, although in the past Minister Hanania de Varela had mentioned that the computers were going to arrive in the country by donation from the United Nations.

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On February 9, the minister had said that they were waiting for a batch of 150,000 computers purchased by the UN, which were scheduled to begin delivery to students in the second half of February.

“We didn’t buy the computers, the United Nations bought them,” Hanania de Varela said on the occasion. Although he also added that these have been acquired with government funds for the year 2020.

The official data provided by the Government mentions that it will be 1.2 million computers, which will be distributed among a similar number of students nationwide, including about 53,000 people who make up the teaching staff of the public network.

As announced by the Minister of Education, the first students to receive the computers will be those in the second and third year of high school. Secretary Handal also mentioned that in the early childhood levels at fourth grade they will be given a tablet, and from fourth grade through high school a computer.

The UN body added in its statement that “the procurement process was conducted in accordance with UNDP procurement policies and procedures, and ensuring the principles: good value for money fairness, effective competition, integrity and transparency “.

Government can resort to purchasing agents exceptionally

On the other hand, the Law on Procurement and Contracting of the Public Administration (Lacap) establishes in its article 20 that the government may exceptionally resort to agents external to the public administration, as in this case the UNDP, to make purchases when none of the state institutions can make it, after internal consultation in their Institutional Procurement and Contracting Units (ICAO).

“When the institution does not have specialized or suitable staff in the matter in question, it will request the collaboration of civil servants from other state institutions, who will be obliged to collaborate and, exceptionally, it may hire specialists, “says one of Article 20.

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Expert lawyers in public administration consulted by Diari d’Avui have explained that in this acquisition of computers made by UNDP it acts as a purchasing agent or intermediary between the equipment supplier and the government.

However, the Executive has not explained what would be the “exceptionality” in this purchase of the 46,422 computers with the United Nations and now that the UNDP is unmarked from the delivery in pre-election week raises other questions: to whom does it go? buy the laptops you are handing out and downloaded what mode did you do it? How many have been purchased to date and how much does the expense amount to date?

The disbursement that the government says it has made on computers is $ 450 million, which when compared to the 2021 budget for the Ministry of Education, which is $ 1,320.4 million, indicates that only computers would be spending half of the budget for the year and about $ 448 million would be available for the other components of the education industry.