Costa Rica in Crisis
Is Riteve
a Private Monopoly?
Many of the protestors were
asking the question, is Riteve a
private monopoly? and calling
for the government to divulge
the name or names of the Costa
Rican businessmen who are
partners with the Spanish firm.
The government has stated
that "Riteve is service that the
Government has delegated to the
company".
Opposition to Riteve, say that
Costa Rica's political
constitution prohibits the
creation of private monopolies.
Protestors in front of the
Legislative Assembly were quick
to point out that they accept
the state monopoly of ICE (the
audience was mostly made up of
ICE employees) and the insurance
monopoly of the INS (Institution
Nacional de Seguros). However,
Riteve is another matter.
Riteve has been providing
vehicle inspection service in
Costa Rica since the middle of
2002.
Government authorities say that
Riteve is acting on behalf of
the government in providing the
service and cannot be deemed a
monopoly since there is a 10
year contract in place that
expires in 2012.
The Ministerio de Obras Publicas
y Transporte (MOPT) sets out the
specifications and requirements
for vehicular inspections that
are then applied by Riteve.
Various legislators have been
studying the Riteve contract and
say that it is a private
monopoly created by the state
and completely contrary to the
constitution of the country.
Luis Ramírez is one legislator
who has been reviewing the
technical revision agreement
from the beginning. He points
out that Article 46 of the
constitution prohibits there
type of agreements.
Federico Malavassi, another
legislator and member of the
Movimiento Libertario party, has
repeatedly saying the same
thing, the Riteve contract is a
monopoly.
Another question being asked of
the government is, "who is the
Tico partner in Riteve?"
It is publicly known that Riteve
SyC, is 55% owned by Spanish
interests and 45% owned by Tico
interests. However, who are the
"Tico interests" has never been
made clear.
The only information that is
known about the "Tico interests"
is that the former owner of
TUASA, the bus company that has
the concession of bus transport
between Alajuela and San José,
is leading the Tico interest in
Riteve.
Riteve has invested more than
$23 Million Dollars in setting
up shop in Costa Rica. If the
government were to annul the
contract, what would be the
indemnification to Costa Ricans?
Many questions like the one
above are surging, as the
government tries to find a way
out of this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
