CEO is summoned to testify in action calling for a public tender at Agesul-MS

This Thursday afternoon (25th) the hearing and trial of the action that began in 2019 against Agesul (State Enterprise Management Agency) for alleged irregular appointment of commissioned employees will take place. The current CEO, Mauro Azambuja, is among the witnesses to be heard.

The list of witnesses also includes the former CEO, Emerson Antonio Marques Pereira, appointed in 2021 by then governor Reinaldo Azambuja (PSDB), and the project director, Dalvim Romão Cezar Junior.

Irregularities in hiring

According to the complaint, in April 2019 the appointment of 22 commissioned employees at Agesul was published in the Official State Gazette. Of these, 8 accused held temporary contract positions up to the day before their appointment.

Furthermore, these 8 nominees began to occupy positions in which they carried out activities typical of public servants. What the MPMS points out is an “undue transmutation of temporarily hired servers into commissioned servers”.

For the prosecution, this appointment constitutes illegality in the conduct of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, through Agesul. During the process, the then director-president of the department confessed that he had cheated on the public tender.

“The above ‘confession’ reveals that the then Manager confirms that the positions occupied by the defendants at AGESUL are not typical of commissioned positions, but rather technical positions that must be filled through a public competition”, quotes the MPMS after an excerpt from the statement.

Therefore, the accusation asks for the exoneration of those accused and for a public competition to be held by the State Government.

Selection process and appointments

In 2023, Agesul promoted a selection process, which is different from a public competition, to hire employees. As a result, at the beginning of this year, 2024, more than 30 commissioners were dismissed.

To the Midiamax, Agesul clarified that the following week the contracts with those approved in the last selection process would be published. Therefore, the commissioned positions were vacated.

Thus, on February 7, 101 engineers and architects were hired through the selection process. Of those reported in the action, four passed the selection process and are now hired.

Two other civil servants have no longer been on Agesul’s staff since 2023, according to the Transparency Portal. Meanwhile, two others remain in commissioned positions, one in a special management and advisory role CCA-08, with provisions of R$ 10,010.

The other server appears assigned to Seilog (State Secretariat for Infrastructure and Logistics of Mato Grosso do Sul), in a special higher management position and CCA-05 advisory, with a fixed remuneration of R$ 17,800.

Midiamax contacted Agesul via email about the appointments and the trial. After publishing the article, the Agency clarified that “there is currently no irregularity in the staff appointed at Agesul”.

“Past situations subject to the aforementioned public civil action still await judicial pronouncement, which is in the investigation phase with an investigation hearing scheduled for April 25th of this year. Special management, special superior management and advisory positions are freely appointed, in accordance with current legislation”, he stated in a note.

Charge per contest

Agesul is also being investigated for possible illegality in the selection process opened in 2023. The body has not held a public tender for over 20 years and became the target of an investigation, as published in the Official Gazette of the MPMS (Public Ministry of Mato Grosso do Sul) on the day January 18th.

According to the publication, the investigation investigates possible illegality in the simplified selection process 01/2023, opened in September for the temporary hiring of public works inspectors for Agesul.

The complaint indicates that the process contradicts, in theory, State Decree No. 15028, of June 19, 2018, which authorizes a public competition for tests and qualifications to fill the public works position at Agesul.

In fact, it is pointed out that the last public competition was held in 2002, more than 21 years ago. Since then, there has been no competition for the inspection of public works by Agesul.

The procedure was initiated by prosecutor Humberto Lapa Ferri, from the 31st Public Prosecutor’s Office of Campo Grande, and is under secrecy.

Midiamax contacted Agesul to find out what measures will be taken from now on for new hires and is awaiting feedback. In a note, the agency responded:

“Agesul (State Enterprise Management Agency) expressed its opinion in the process regarding Notice of Fact No. 01.2023.00008133-6, which is confidential. The State Public Ministry sent questions about the simplified selection process on October 9, 2023 and the answers were sent on the 31st of the same month.

It is worth highlighting that the selection process in question aims to guarantee the effective delivery of work and results to the population.”

Selective process

The selection process investigated opened 85 vacancies for civil engineer, 4 for environmental engineer, 1 for electrical engineer, 1 for sanitary engineer, 1 for mechanical engineer, 1 for forestry engineer and 1 for geologist engineer and 19 for architect.

Thus, the expected salary was R$10,908.00 and a workload of 40 hours per week.