| Argentina: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Procurement | ||
| Indicators | Score | |
| 48 | Is the public procurement process effective? | 85 |
| 49 | Can citizens access the public procurement process? | 67 |
Indicator and sub-Indicator Details
| 48 | Is the public procurement process effective? | |||||||
| 48a: In law, there are regulations addressing conflicts of interest for public procurement officials. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: UN / OAS Conventions against Corruption Ethics Law (Law 25.188) Decree 41/99 Decree 164/99 Decree 862/01 National Civil Service Law (Law 25.164) Ministries Law (Law 25.233) Acquisition and procurement of public goods and servicies regulation (decree 436/00) Public Procurement Regulation (Decree 1023/01) www.infoleg.gov.ar
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| 48b: In law, there is mandatory professional training for public procurement officials. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Public Employment National Law (Law 25164 "Del Fondo Permanente de capacitación y recalificación laboral") www.infoleg.gov.ar
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| 48c: In practice, the conflicts of interest regulations for public procurement officials are enforced. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Gastón Rosenberg - Professor at University of Buenos Aires, September 2007 University of Buenos Aires
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| 48d: In law, there is a mechanism that monitors the assets, incomes and spending habits of public procurement officials. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: UN / OAS Conventions against Corruption Anti-corruption Office (National Public Administration) Public Ethic law (Law 25188) Ministries Law (Law 25233) Decree 102/99 www.infoleg.gov.ar
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| 48e: In law, major procurements require competitive bidding. | ||||||||
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Comments: According to Decree 1023/01 and Decree 436/00, procurements over 75,000 pesos (US$23,900) require competitive bidding processes. References: Acquisition and procurement of public goods and servicies regulation (decree 436/00) Public Procurement Regulation (Decree 1023/01) www.infoleg.gov.ar Poder Ciudadano´s Reply to the Questionnaire of the Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism for the implementation of The Interamerican Convention against Corruption, 2006. [ LINK ]
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| 48f: In law, strict formal requirements limit the extent of sole sourcing. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Decree 1023/01; Interview with Gaston Rosenberg, Resposible for the Public Procurement Program, Poder Ciudadano Foundation.
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| 48g: In law, unsuccessful bidders can instigate an official review of procurement decisions. | ||||||||
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Comments: According to the sources mentioned, unsuccessful bidders can instigate an official review of procurement decisions. Specifically, Decree 1023/01 establishes that the regulation in each procurement process must define which are the cases in which this situation may occur. References: Acquisition and procurement of public goods and servicies regulation (decree 436/00) Public Procurement Regulation (Decree 1023/01) www.infoleg.gov.ar
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| 48h: In law, unsuccessful bidders can challenge procurement decisions in a court of law. | ||||||||
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Comments: Unsuccesful bidders can challenge procurement decisions in a court of law. The mechanism for doing so is defined in each process. However, a free process is not guarantee in all cases. References: Acquisition and procurement of public goods and servicies regulation (decree 436/00) Public Procurement Regulation (Decree 1023/01) www.infoleg.gov.ar
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| 48i: In law, companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations (i.e. bribery) are prohibited from participating in future procurement bids. | ||||||||
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Comments: Both sources mentioned prohibit convicted felons from particpating in procurement bids. References: Acquisition and procurement of public goods and servicies regulation (decree 436/00) Public Procurement Regulation (Decree 1023/01) www.infoleg.gov.ar
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| 48j: In practice, companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations (i.e. bribery) are prohibited from participating in future procurement bids. | ||||||||
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Comments: There exists a registry of the companies guilty of corruption. However, sometimes when companies are accused of major violations of procurement regulations, they change their name in order to particpate in future procurements bids. This makes it very difficult to carry out an effective mechanism to prohibit those companies from participating in future procurement bids. References: Gastón Rosenberg - Professor at University of Buenos Aires, September 2007 University of Buenos Aires Vulnerable Public Contracting (Risk Map) [ LINK ]
Peer Review Comments: In practice, companies guilty of corruption may participate in new bids. The case of Siemmens and the DNI (National Identity Documents) is an example of this. It was proved that the Goverment was paying more than the market price for the manufacture of this documents, but the company won other bids. Many companies have strong relations with public servers that benefit mutual bussines.
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| 49 | Can citizens access the public procurement process? | |||||||
| 49a: In law, citizens can access public procurement regulations. | ||||||||
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Comments: Public procurement regulations must be published through the Internet (the Web site of the National Procurement Office). References: Acquisition and procurement of public goods and servicies regulation (decree 436/00) Public Procurement Regulation (Decree 1023/01) www.infoleg.gov.ar www.argentinacompra.gov.ar
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| 49b: In law, the government is required to publicly announce the results of procurement decisions. | ||||||||
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Comments: Public procurement results must be published on the Web site of the National Procurement Office. References: Acquisition and procurement of public goods and servicies regulation (decree 436/00) Public Procurement Regulation (Decree 1023/01) www.infoleg.gov.ar www.argentinacompra.gov.ar
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| 49c: In practice, citizens can access public procurement regulations within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Gastón Rosenberg - Professor at University of Buenos Aires, September 2007 University of Buenos Aires Vulnerable Public Contracting (Risk Map) [ LINK ]
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| 49d: In practice, citizens can access public procurement regulations at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: Most of them are published on the Internet. References: Gastón Rosenberg - Professor at University of Buenos Aires, September 2007 University of Buenos Aires www.argentinacompra.gov.ar Vulnerable Public Contracting (Risk Map) [ LINK ]
Peer Review Comments: Also published in newspapers.
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| 49e: In practice, major public procurements are effectively advertised. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Gastón Rosenberg - Professor at University of Buenos Aires, September 2007 University of Buenos Aires
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| 49f: In practice, citizens can access the results of major public procurement bids. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Gastón Rosenberg - Professor at University of Buenos Aires, September 2007 University of Buenos Aires Vulnerable Public Contracting (Risk Map) [ LINK ]
Peer Review Comments: The results of major public procurement bids can be accesed by citizens in most of the cases.
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