The official from Stein who was arrested Tuesday by the national criminal investigation department is suspected of corruption in a project in Voerendaal. The man was previously employed there. He has been detained, as have five Limburg colleagues.
Back in 2006, rumors were already circulating in Voerendaal that something was wrong with the tendering process for the 'Liveability Project' for the Ubachsberg core. There would be a very warm relationship between civil servant David G., and road construction company Janssen De Jong Infra, which had won the project. G., who lives in Belgium and now works for the municipality of Stein, is one of six Limburg civil servants arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of corruption. After the Belgian police searched his home and posted forgiveness at the border, the national criminal investigation department caught the official in the parking lot of the Stein town hall.
Stein has since temporarily suspended G., who is manager of management, public space and accommodations. Mayor Anton Barske: "We want to prevent that when he is released later, he can simply walk back into the town hall. First I want to have a good conversation with him." The Stein administration is shocked, according to Barske. "This is not a positive advertisement for public administration in Limburg," notes the mayor.
G. also held a role on that board himself for several years. He was a council member for the CDA in Voerendaal before taking up that green municipality as a civil servant. He became head of the management department. G. has now been arrested in connection with corruption in a project in Voerendaal, says a spokesman for the national prosecutor's office. The currently detained man played an important role in the procurement of the Ubachsberg Liveability Project. That caused much controversy in Voerendaal in 2006. The city council had made 1.1 million euros available for the redevelopment of the center and the main road in Ubachsberg. That turned out to be too little. One of the reasons: against the prevailing tender policy, the colleague did not choose the contractor who had tendered the cheapest, but Janssen De Jong. That cost the destitute municipality an extra 240,000 euros. The choice of Janssen De Jong was the result of an entirely new way of tendering about which the city council - again against the rules - was only informed afterwards. Four contractors were allowed to submit bids based on a Design & Construct model with which Voerendaal had no experience whatsoever. This gave the entrepreneurs plenty of room to come up with their own plans and ideas. In assessing the entries, it was not only the price that was decisive.
"A subjective and opaque system"
The privately selected contractors could also earn points for the presentation of their project, its "technical value" and granted "guarantees. In addition, the jury appointed by the college also awarded bonus points. The five-member jury included two employees of Van Heukelom-Verbeek Landscape Architects, which was closely involved in the entire project. Alongside them three involved officials from Voerendaal itself. One of those municipal employees, according to well-informed sources, later made a career switch: he transferred to Janssen De Jong. But David G., head of the Management Department, was also on the jury. The jury ultimately unanimously chose Janssen De Jong, which scored 'excellent' on almost all aspects. In local politics, the council group Democrats Voerendaal in particular roared with anger. Current group chairman Patrick Leunissen spoke of an "opaque and subjective" that had led to the expensive choice of Janssen De Jong. Even if this road builder had been another million euros more expensive, the company would have received the most points because of the system used.
Why and at whose initiative the college chose the Design & Construct model also remained a question afterwards. Whether G. played a guiding role in this is unclear. That he was in a position to exert influence is clear. In Voerendaal there was and still is a persistent rumor that G. was richly rewarded by Janssen De Jong after the tender. In any case, Voerendaal's mayor, Ed Sprokkel, who took office in October 2008, does not want to know of any evil. "The national criminal investigation department has not been here, the justice department has not called me for information. As for that whole Ubachsberg tender, following questions from the council and the press, the matter was discussed with the officials involved at the time. This revealed that nothing happened that could not bear the light of day. "That conclusion was never put in writing? "I learned that verbally."
Janssen De Jong can also look forward to the next Voerendaal job, Sprokkel announces. In April, the company will renovate the Lindelaufer Gewande industrial site. What amount is involved, the mayor does not yet want to reveal. "The college has to agree to that first," he said.
