According to MSM news, there are increasing doubts about the accuracy of the document that Carris delivered to journalists.
The contract of ‘right adjustment’ delivered at the press conference was not signed and was different from the contract that CNN accessed on Saturday. In the new contract, all pages are initialed in the upper right corner, and the signatures of Carris administrators are visible on the last page.
Carris denies having given a false draft to journalists and reaffirms that it signed a new contract with the elevator maintenance services on the 20th of August. The previous contract was due to expire on the 31st of August 2025.
Pedro Bogas assured that there was a new contract, but for reasons he did not discuss, this contract could not become public property until after the 31st of August. After which, a copy would be made available.
The new 18-page contract was delivered with signatures and names crossed out. During which, another version was published via Página Um, to which CNN Portugal also had access.
There are some differences: the initialed pages and the signatures of Carris administrators appear visible on the last sheet. However, the space of the erasures does not coincide with the space of signatures.
According to lawyer Paulo Saragoça da Matta, a commentator for CNN Portugal:
“There are discrepancies, because when you look at the contract, you notice that the graphic stain of the signatures is not the graphic stain of, let’s call it that, draft. I would not say that this will necessarily prove that the contract is not true. What may happen and happens many times, and it is understandable why it happens, is that the contract was signed after the beginning of the new contractual period.”
When reporters asked Carris for clarification, they reiterated that they had given a due draft copy of the contract to journalists and reaffirmed that the new contract was signed on the 20th of August.
Furthermore, news agencies state that they have access to the deliberation of the Board of Directors, dated the 14th of August, which shows that the public tender, launched in April this year, was cancelled due to costs. Proposals presented by competing companies were expensive. Therefore, the company decided to move forward with a direct adjustment for five months for the amount of 221 thousand euros.
“If services were provided by the service provider, this is further evidence that the contract was in force despite the lack of form. In the circumstance, I think that what counts is the substance, not the form, and there will be no problems of validity for insurance purposes. The attitude of the insurers will also affect the outcome on this,” da Matta argues.
The company guarantees that, in this short period, there has never been an interruption in the maintenance services provided and that these have been scrupulously respected.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
MSM News
