MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Further purge in Venezuelan government oil industry

Rafael Ramirez Venezuelan Energy and Oil Minister, and president of Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, announced the government owned company was sacking dozens of managers and supervisors allegedly involved in corruption practices.

According to the government run Venezuelan National Radio, the high ranking officials "auctioned" posts and were involved in other unspecified private benefit "personal decisions" which cost PDVSA "million of dollars in losses and damages".

"We are reviewing corruption cases and firing managers and supervisors who were engaged in illegal practices; we're talking about people from the 'old' as well as 'new' PDVSA", underlined Mr. Ramirez adding that as many as thirty people has been fired from PDVSA facilities in Zulia state alone.

The "old" and "new" references are linked to "before and after" the 63-day PDVSA strike from December 2002 to February 2003, which was part of a major plan to force the resignation of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

The strike, which the government says cost the country more than ten billion US dollars, was supported by most of PDVSA employees. Approximately 18,000 of them, half the staff, were later declared redundant.

"PDVSA is making a qualitative leap in its administration. We took an important step in defeating sabotage, (because) not even an occupation army destroys the oil facilities of the country it takes over", Ramirez highlighted in direct reference to charges that the fired employees had purposely put oil wells and equipment out of production.

"We hope some day justice will be served and the guilty parties punished", concluded Mr. Ramirez.