2024-09-13 06:17:31
The country’s decentralized autonomous governments sign contracts worth thousands of dollars each month. Their expenses are among the main ones made through the Public Procurement System, even surpassing those of the Executive, in the first half of 2024.
In total, the autonomous governments have awarded contracts worth around USD 582 million in the first six months of the year. Added to this are purchases made by public companies belonging to these institutions, which total USD 161 million in the same period.
The total amount is USD 743 million, which is distributed in 25,704 contracts that are on the Public Procurement portal (not including emergencies). The data show that those who spend the most are the municipalities of the 221 cantons, followed by the provincial governments or prefectures, and finally the parish governments. This has a clear explanation, which is that the municipalities of the large cities (especially Quito y Guayaquil) have big budgets.
This money is mainly used for public works construction. This ranges from smaller projects such as patching up streets to larger ones, such as building terminals or buildings. After all, public works is the main objective that prefectures, municipalities and rural parish governments are dedicated to.
However, security ranks second among the most frequently contracted services by GADs. In the first six months of 2024 alone, these institutions have awarded USD 67 million in contracts for security services. In the midst of the country’s security crisis, local government institutions have dedicated part of their budget to safeguarding their facilities.
By: Ecuador Live