The City Hall of Sector 1 has signed a contract worth about 45,000 euros to create an online registration platform for the 1,000 lei vouchers that Mayor Clotilda Armand wants to provide to the residents of Sector 1, although the project has not been approved by the city. council. The money goes to the company Field Zoom Data, which also includes UDR as a shareholder. In connection with HotNews.ro, Mayor Clotilda Armand says that the procurement was carried out correctly and transparently, and the price was very good.

Purchase in 34 minutes

The announcement on the development of the online platform was published in the electronic public procurement system on November 7 at 1:42 p.m., with an estimated cost of 221,000 lei (about 45,216 euros including VAT).

What did the city hall buy? “IT services for the development and operation of an online platform for the collection of information and verification of the beneficiaries of vouchers intended for the improvement of energy efficiency, in accordance with the specifications attached,” the procurement description reads.

At 2:16 p.m., 34 minutes later, Field Zoom Data submitted a bid at a price that matched the authority’s estimate and immediately received a response from the customer.

According to the online company verification platform confidas.ro, Field Zoom Data was founded in 2019, has 5 employees and had a loss of around 345,000 lei last year.

According to confidas.ro, the company has the following shareholders

• WITHOUT CONEY – 28.91%
• DAFINA MARIA JACKET – 28.47 %
• POPESKU VALENTIN – 14.13%
• DUNHA ANDRI-REZVAN – 10.86
• GHICA ALEXANDRU ION – 3.26 %
• CUPCEA ANTON NICOLAE – 3.26%
• MELISH ANDREY – 3.26%
• VALMARY PATRICK JEAN – LUC-2.5%
• FAUR DANIEL – 2.17%
• ANTONIU IOAN-VLAD – 2.06%
• POSA VLADT – VALENTYN 1.08 %

Marius Cornel Nitsu is one of the founders of Eau de Web together with Miruna Bedescu, Anton Kupcea and Ion Alexandru Gica.

Anton Kupcha is also a member of USR Sector 1 (was part of the local office and the municipal office).

Dafina Jeacă is the co-founder of the Ogor application, which “monitors” arable land using satellite data, and in this way farmers can remotely monitor the evolution of the crop, identify problems in time and quickly intervene if necessary.

On November 17, 10 days later, the platform was ready and the City Hall of Sector 1 opened registration for anti-crisis vouchers worth 1,000 lei, although the project was not approved by the local council. According to the estimates of the representatives of the institution, approximately 208,000 people will receive vouchers, and the estimated budget is 208 million lei. On Friday, the project will be submitted for approval to the local council of the 1st district.

Clotilde Armand: The platform was attacked by hackers, but it survived

I spoke with Mayor Clotilda Armand about the fact that she started registration even before the project was approved by the city council, and about the purchase of the platform.

The mayor says that energy efficiency projects at this stage do not require the approval of the city council.

“For any energy efficiency project, we first need to know what the goal is, the goal, then we propose measures in the city council and finally, the last step is to measure the impact. These energy efficiency measures comply with the European directive, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint. In Romania we are a bit behind, we have not made all the progress that other countries have made. With this project, we want to help people insulate their homes and have a lower electricity bill. It is important for the environment, for people’s finances, and the whole community benefits from these energy efficiency measures,” explained Clotilde Armand.

Regarding the direct purchase of the platform, the mayor says that he complied with all legal norms.

“The announcement of this purchase absolutely complied with all legal norms, the entire procedure was carried out through SEAP, everything is transparent. By law, this is a direct premium purchase. This company has no family connection with the leadership of the City Hall. I learned that there is a person who owns 3% of the company, who is a member of the UDR, but is not part of the party’s leadership,” explained Armand.

The mayor says the firm has experience running projects with the European Space Agency, and the platform has been attacked by hackers but has survived.

• “The company was founded in 2019, it is a company consisting of IT specialists with more than 20 years of experience in designing and developing complex IT projects. He knows how to process satellite data, artificial intelligence. It is important to be a very good company with a very good experience, there is a lot of data, 210,000 people who will sign up at the same time.
• After launching the platform online, it was attacked by hackers. It was very important to be a recognized firm, a leading firm in its field. If you look this company up online you will see the level of expertise they have, they have worked on big projects.
• The company is currently doing projects with the European Space Agency, which means it has clients like the European Commission, and we know that this company can do this project. We knew that the platform would be attacked,” said Clotilde Armand.

The mayor also says that the platform was developed in record time and at a high price.

• “I did not find a non-existent IT service in the City Hall of Sector 1, the former administration awarded contracts at inflated prices to private companies. The platform was developed extremely quickly. The platform is ours, there are already other institutions that have approached us. It is not like before that you bought some services, and the platform remained with the developer. The platform remains ours.
• I don’t care if someone from USR has 3% of the company, I care about what the company is doing, how recognized is it to face the challenges that we have, the platform has been attacked and will be attacked, it has all the necessary security levels.
• This money also includes 210,000 SMS, because each person who authorizes receives an SMS confirmation. So, this price includes a platform that is extremely reliable, but also a minimum of 210,000 SMS. This is an extremely competitive price. 20,000 euros are worth only SMS,” the mayor explained.

I have also asked for Anton Kupcha’s point of view on the Facebook page, but have not yet received any response. If we receive it, we will publish it.

“I will fight with the Council to approve the project”

When asked why she proposed giving out 1,000 lei vouchers to everyone, regardless of income, Clotilde Armand says it’s like thermal rehabilitation.

• “It’s a measure not only for low-income people, but also for the middle class, for most people. The European directive on which this energy efficiency measure is based requires that it be non-discriminatory. The secretary general, who checks the legality of the Council’s decisions, clearly told me that she will not sign the legality if this project is discriminatory. This is not a social project, it is an energy efficient project.
• It’s like with thermal sanitation, there are people who received community funds for the sanitation of the quarter, and the question of how much they earn did not arise. Everyone got it, because that’s how the European directive was made. Richer people won’t sign up for this program, they won’t make the effort to sign up for this platform. Our goal is to save energy, period,” Clotilde Armand explained.

When asked what will happen to the platform and the money spent if the city council does not approve this project, Clotilde Armand says that she will fight for its approval.

“I will fight with the Council to approve it. If the people of sector 1 are interested in this project, they will approve it. In a house where two parents live plus a child over 18 years old, plus a grandmother, 4 people, it will be 4,000 lei, they still need to put 2-3,000 lei on the table, change the windows to insulate the bridge, change their central station. The impact will be significant, they will reduce their account. Before the vote, we will have a clear idea of ​​what people want to do with these vouchers, what energy will be saved, the impact of the project is important to support the project in the local council,” said the mayor. .

So far, 10,000 people have registered on the platform provided by the City Hall of Sector 1 to take advantage of the 1,000 lei vouchers, the mayor also said.

According to the provision that is under public discussion, the voucher can be used exclusively for the purchase from participating economic operators: equipment, solutions, materials and services for increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, increasing the energy efficiency of equipment, including household appliances, installing local renewable sources energy, as well as for the certification of energy efficiency of buildings.

The ticket can be used, if approved, by individuals, individually or as a partnership, in a family or at the level of collective housing. According to the Regulation on payment of vouchers, developed by local administration specialists, collective housing is understood as “a collection of houses/apartments with several different owners located in one residential building (block, house, etc.).”

“Registration for this program will be done through access to a computer program (the “Platform”). Once the applicant fills the online form, it is processed and eligible participants are notified via SMS. The actual ticket is sent by mail with a receipt on the waybill,” the City Hall of District 1 reported.

According to the provision, which is under public discussion, in the case of its approval in this form, persons who meet the following conditions in total can enter this program:

• They are 18 years old on the date of registration on the Platform;
• They are citizens of Romania or citizens of a Member State of the European Union and have, as the case may be: (i) residence in Sector 1 of the Municipality of Bucharest on the date of registration or (ii) reside in Sector 1 of the Municipality of Bucharest on the date of registration. Bucharest Municipality on the date of registration, as a result of a floating visa submitted no later than 01.11.2022;
• They have a valid ID/passport at the time of registration on the Platform;
• They do not have the status of a local councilor in the local council of Sector 1 of the Municipality of Bucharest, mayor or vice-mayor of Sector 1 of the Municipality of Bucharest, or a spouse, relative or relative up to the first degree. including, with him, at the time of sending the request for registration on the Platform.