|
Riteve to Stay
The Contraloría General de la
República - Comtproller's office
- yesterday ratified the
contract between the Ministerio
de Obras Públicas y
Transportes(MOPT) and the
Spanish company Riteve.
The MOPT had requested that the
contract be annulled following
complaints by trucking companies
and unions that Riteve is
operating as a monopoly, with no
competition whatsoever, to
provide the annual vehicle
inspection service in Costa
Rica.
The Contraloría rejected the
request on the grounds that the
time to ask for annulment is
past the time allowed for such
an action.
The reactions from the Minister
of Transport and the Comité
Cívico Nacional was quick to
come, that though they accept
the decision by the Contraloría,
they are upset and worried at
the resolution.
Riteve, with a Costa Rican
partner, began operations in
Costa Rica about 4 years ago. It
is the only authority to inspect
vehicles each year, a
requirement for annual renewal
of the vehicle's registrations
or "marchamo".
Riteve has come under scrutiny
when it decided to charge for
re-inspection. Until last year,
a vehicle's owner would pay for
the cost of the annual
inspection and would have 30
days to have the vehicle
re-inspected if it failed. Now,
re-inspection costs 1/2 of the
original cost of the inspection.
Critics say that since the
company operates a monopoly it
is unfair that it charge a
re-inspection fee. Defending
itself, Riteve has launched a
public campaign to educate and
prepare vehicle owners on what
is required to pass the annual
inspection and to pre-check
their vehicles before making
their visit to an inspection
station.
|
|
