The former director of the Canarian Health Service (SCS) endorses the success of the management solutions contract and acknowledges the necessity of taking “risks” to save lives.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 30 (Europa Press)
Antonio Olivera, the former director of SCS and prior president of the Presidency, stated on Thursday that “nobody was complicit in any conspiracy” regarding the procurement of medical supplies within the regional government during the last legislature.
Speaking before the Investigation Commission of the Canarian Parliament, he admitted that there were “heartless and malicious individuals” attempting to profit from the situation, though he emphasised that he “never” felt anyone was looking to exploit the crisis.
Olivera expressed his “pride” in his leadership of the SCS for roughly three months, asserting that the priority was “to save lives” and ensure the supply of materials, which was successfully accomplished. “While people were smothering in other regions, nobody faced an undignified death here,” he remarked.
He highlighted that there was a “tremendous global demand” for medical supplies amid an “exceptional” contracting circumstance, which were centralised through the economic resources direction of the SCS.
He recalled the challenges faced by prevention services in standardising the quality of the materials, stressing that the initial focus was on usual SCS suppliers, and when they lacked capacity, “others” were sought to assist. “The crucial element was maintaining a strong connection with China to avoid losing supplies,” he noted.
Olivera clarified that he is not under investigation for any reason and is currently the head of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory. He specified that neither the Health Management Committee—of which he was a member—nor the scientific committee made decisions concerning material purchases, delegating this responsibility to Ana María Pérez, the director of economic resources.
Ana María Pérez: A “very competent” official
He described her as a “very competent” official, citing that she performed well and oversaw contracts transferred from various sectors to ensure the materials were vetted.
He asserted that it would be “unthinkable” to have declined health materials when acquiring masks or swabs was proving to be exceedingly difficult, predicting that “all” MPs would have done the same “with their eyes closed.”
“If they had experienced it firsthand, they wouldn’t have been so meticulous; the priority was to save lives and acquire supplies,” he said, sarcastically highlighting “the significant difference between being in an office making decisions and being at home baking biscuits.”
Olivera acknowledged that “risks” were necessary in some procurements to assist in “saving lives.”
Concerning the RR7 contract—where four million euros were paid in advance for one million masks that were never received—he mentioned he learned about it through the media and does not know the owners, also confirming that “no accounting or criminal responsibility of any member of the government or the Canarian PSOE has been established.”
He made it clear that he was not engaged in the contracting process, noting that the proposal reached Conrado Domínguez—SCS Director—after both he and Alberto Pazos and was passed to Ana María Pérez, as recorded “in a document” within judicial proceedings.
Olivera clarified that he was unaware Domínguez had an office within the SCS during his term as technical general secretary of the Ministry of Public Works—according to a company—and asserted that, in any case, he would not have permitted it.
Regarding management solutions, a firm associated with the ‘Koldo Case’ that received contracts worth 12 million euros in the Canary Islands, he remarked that the initial offer originated from a call from the company’s attorney, Íñigo Rotaexte, who was already providing materials to Canarian ports.
He recalled that the proposal was sent to the Directorate of Economic Resources and once the quality of the materials was verified, the purchase was formalised, given that in April 2020, the weekly consumption of masks stood at 500,000.
He noted that nothing was paid in advance and that a “very good” price of €2.50 per unit was secured for the time.
When questioned about Koldo García’s role, a former advisor of the Ministry of Transportation, he indicated that the contract proposal did not come through him, but acknowledged they spoke occasionally about payment and supply issues—”it was a discussion between administrations.”
The account audit report appeared to aim to “cause damage.”
On Megalab contracts, valued at about €5.4 million, he remarked that it made “complete sense” as it was a company with “roots throughout Spain,” and it was a period when tourism sought to relaunch safely, both with antigen and PCR tests, but that option was abandoned due to delays from the Ministry of Health.
Olivera expressed criticism of the Canary Islands Audience report on pandemic contracts, stating it seemed its “primary mission” was “to inflict damage” on the SCS’s reputation, while he disagreed with the notion that authorisation from the Governing Council was needed to subscribe to emergency contracts.
He cited that in one instance, “a trip” was afforded to the government for failing to verify the solvency of the contracted companies, whereas in Galicia, the opposite was reported, showcasing the Xunta’s ability to find companies supplying medical materials.
