In the omnibus bill presented by the Executive there are two aspects related to contracts and purchases made by the State, one concerning what has already been done and another dependent on what is to come. Always with an eye on reducing spending.
In article 33, the rule created by Javier Milei’s team establishes that the Executive can provide for emergency reasons the renegotiation or termination of contracts of any nature which generate obligations payable by the State, concluded before 10 December 2023 by any decentralized body or entity of the national public administration.
Only “contracts signed pursuant to privatization processes authorized by law no. 23,696 and who are regulated in their benefits by regulatory frameworks established by law; as well as for those who have international financing”.
When it comes to international financing, the article suggests that it is not just about contracts for smaller purchases, but also about larger public works.
The text continues by saying that “for the purposes of this law, causes of force majeure are considered to be configured according to the contractual regime of the State, regardless of the legal typology of the contracting entity”.
According to specialists, all administrative contracts can be terminated at any time due to unforeseen events or force majeure. “But what that rule does is prefigure the assumption of a fortuitous event or force majeure, avoiding having to prove it for each particular contract,” they said.
According to this article, any type of state contract – whether for works or services – could lapse or be renegotiated upon approval.
Another article that aims to control expenses is n. 7, which aims to concentrate all state acquisitions in a single regime to make them more transparent and efficient. As indicated by the Government, “public purchases have a very significant weight in the resources spent by a Government. It is estimated that, in Argentina, public procurement exceeds 5% of GDP”.
For this reason we try to “guarantee a transparent and efficient contractual system that eliminates the discretions that can give rise to corruption and surcharges paid with taxpayers’ money”.
The bill confers powers on the national executive branch concentrate the national public procurement system in a single regime, today scattered in various standards which regulate general aspects (contractor selection procedure, witness price, preference regime, private initiative, etc.) and in particular administrative contracts. Quick and effective systems for the prevention and resolution of disputes, such as conciliation, mediation, compromise and arbitration, are incorporated for all.
Source: Clarin
