The ongoing push by Brazil´s ruling party to streamline regulations governing tenders in a bid to speed up preparations for the 2014 World Cup and Rio 2016 Olympics should come to a head over the coming weeks as the Senate debates the contentious issue.
It is no secret that Brazil´s overly complex tender, approval and appeal processes constantly bog down public and private projects alike, creating headaches for works like the Cup with its fixed timelines, however much of society remains resistant to the proposed changes. The latter is no surprise given the laws have been founded on ideals of transparency and due process, as Brazil has sought to eradicate opportunities for corruption.
At the heart of the debate is the Minister for Sport, Orlando Silva, who is pressuring congress to approve various changes, including an inverted verification process allowing proposals to be summarily analysed and a winner named before comprehensive assessment takes place, as well as a requirement that the executive project and the actual works be undertaken by the same company.
Other changes such as a payment schedule pinned to the realisation and performance of the project and the possibility of post-negotiation with the best-qualified bidder to achieve even lower prices are also being debated.
Those for the changes regularly cite the fact that the existing regulations and their time-consuming nature contributed significantly to the massive cost blow-out from the 2007 Pan American Games, which at a final official figure of R$3.25 billion cost over three times the official 2005 organising committee budget of R$949 million (a 2003 estimate submitted to government budgeted just R$390 million). The groups responsible for those Games blamed much of the added cost on last-minute, urgent works that forced their hands.
If passed, the changes would likely have a positive effect on the chances of international groups competing in tender processes.