Santa Cruz de Tenerife 17 Feb. (Europa Press) –
Manuel Alcaide, the head of the Service of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Government, declared on Monday that the Health Emergency Committee which was established by the Canary Islands Government during the Covid-19 pandemic was necessary and lacked operational minutes.
He made this statement during the Investigation Commission of the Canary Islands Parliament regarding the procurement of health materials, where he highlighted that he submitted a report on the Committee’s activities to the Court of Instruction number 7 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, via the Udef, amid the inquiry into the mask contract with RR7 United.
He admitted that he had no “knowledge” of the committee’s existence and mentioned that his department does not have “communication channels” with the Canary Health Service (SCS). This was also supported by a report from the Deputy Minister of the Presidency, Antonio Olivera.
Additionally, he stated that there was no pressure from members of the Canary Islands government—”at all”—to withhold information from the Court; rather, “there was collaboration,” emphasising that the emergency committee only received information “from the press.”
Alcaide noted that the Committee comprised 16 individuals and clarified that regarding the RR7 contract, in response to inquiries from the Court, Conrado Dominguez, the Committee’s coordinator, revealed that the decision to pass the offer to the SC was his own and that no conditions were negotiated as “it was a fixed offer.”
He further specified that the other committee members—including the President of the Government, Ángel Víctor Torres, councillors, senior officials, and scientists—”were unaware of anything” related to the contract, as they stated while compiling the report.
This account has been challenged by Deputy Vidina Espino (CC), who presented to the Commission an order from the Minister of Health, Julio Pérez, indicating that the Committee made decisions concerning the procurement of materials.
Alcaide expressed his surprise, as a public official, that “there is nothing,” nor any regulation regarding the health emergency committee. “There is absolutely nothing, it has no executive power, there was nothing in the presidency,” he remarked, acknowledging that there were times when “communication was quite poor.”
