The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) warned that in 2023 the main risk practices in public procurement were related to contracting with risky suppliers, followed by the lack of competition in procedures.
The Training and Training Trust for the Personnel of the National Merchant Navy (Fidena), the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (Fonatur) and Distribuidora e Impulsora Comercial Conasupo (Diconsa) were the institutions with the highest level of risk in public purchases.
In the study “Risks in public procurement at the federal level”, to promote a solid contracting system in the country that guarantees competition and better price and quality conditions, the IMCO proposed consolidating a transactional public procurement system that allows all Hiring stages can be monitored.
In addition, implement tools based on algorithms to optimize the stages of the process, from the pre-contractual phase to the closing of the contract; establish a lock on the transactional system to avoid contracting with sanctioned and ghost companies; and replicate the purchasing system in the federal entities so that the processes and standards are approved.
The IMCO explained that in 2023, the institutions of the Federal Public Administration (AFP) signed contracts for 2,506 million with companies that were or were eventually sanctioned for having breached the contracts or incurred irregularities such as presenting false health records.
And six institutions, including Diconsa and the National Migration Institute, had contracts for cleaning services with a company that since 2022 had alerts for bad practices that made it subject to sanctions by the Ministry of Public Administration.
Added to this is that 3,096 million pesos were contracted with recently created companies, a phenomenon that may affect compliance with contractual objects. In this category, the Mexican Social Security Institute stands out, which in 2023 concentrates seven out of every ten pesos contracted with recently created companies.
In addition to the above, there is a lack of competition in the procedures, which implies the concentration of the contracted amount in exceptional procedures (direct award and restricted invitation), as well as conditions that generally reduce competition such as the concentration of suppliers in one institution or the short deadlines in the competitions.
The IMCO added that direct invitation and restricted invitation continue to be widely used in the APF. In 2023, 22% of the total amount of public purchases was allocated through direct awards and restricted invitations, which is equivalent to 150,920 million pesos.
He highlighted that in 2023, in the group of agencies that spent more than 3,000 million pesos, the institution that presented the highest risk of corruption was Fidena, followed by FONATUR and Diconsa.
Among the bad practices that explain this level of risk are the concentration on a few suppliers and the prevalence of exception procedures.
Follow us on Google News to always stay informed
Get inspired, discover and share. Follow us and find what you are looking for on our Instagram!
