The Court of Auditors again has refused the Ministry of Internal Affairs authorisation for its investment in the SIRESP emergency communication system.
The Court has rejected the investment of €15.8 million, insisting that liabilities have to be cleared for previous financial offences and criticises those responsible for the contract between the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) and SIRESP which took place before the Court of Auditors had a chance to assess the deal.
The Court alleges that some financial rules have been violated and that the principles of "economy, efficiency and effectiveness" have not been complied with so the Court has decided that an investigation must be made to establish any financial liability.
Eduardo Cabrita, the Minister of Internal Administration, said that “what is fundamental for the country is that SIRESP has been strengthened and has worked, guaranteeing the safety of the Portuguese.”
This latest decision confirms the original judgment of October 2018, which showed that it was not up to the State to assume any extra expense to make SIRESP fit for purpose, this was down to the consortium running the system.
The Government has always claimed it has ‘invested’ in the emergency network, despite this expenditure being wholly unnecessary, whose failures were pointed out as one of the factors responsible for the devastating of fires of 2017.
Comments
I fear not.
It seems to me that the only way in which such a disaster response system can be effective is if it works by satellite communication. Landlines and mobile phone masts are too susceptible to mishaps on the ground. And I suspect that the original SIRESP contract did not specify satellite communication.