The Independent Office of Regulation and Supervision of the Procurement (Oirescon) released yesterday the report on public procurement in 2018, approved last week and to be send soon to the European Council as laid down in the regulations. Over more than 400 pages, the agency was created by the Law of Contracts of the Public Sector to 2017 points to some shortcomings in the Spanish system, such as the low use of e-procurement, and calls for a national plan against corruption.

“there Is the absence and the need for a National Strategy of Prevention and Fight against Corruption, setting out the main lines of action”, the report that will be forwarded to Brussels. Among the efforts to homogenize, quote, “the advice, training, research procedure and, in your case, the possible sanctions,” and asked that the plan include “a specific section on public procurement”.

The Oirescon arose from the law of 2017, due to transposition of two european directives of 2014, and its mission is precisely to ensure good practices and transparency in the public procurement. But as things stand, it seems like a simple task. To lack of means and their own staff, in 2018 has had with data provided by self-government bodies or municipal authorities.

To do this has only been able to count on the office anti-fraud of Catalonia and the Valencian Community (the Balearic islands did not have staff until 2019), as well as the city Councils of Madrid and Barcelona. Those four agencies gave account of 146 complaints, of which 96 are still pending, and only two have been notified to the public Prosecutor's office, Court of Auditors or Bodies of External Control.

The margin of corruption, the report also notes the backwardness that leads to the implementation of e-procurement. Only a won 6.92% of the procedures are licitaron through the Platform of Contracting of the Public Sector. Although it is a leap with regard to 2017, when it was 1,35%, in absolute terms are 39.958 tenders in front of 537.181 that were conducted by non-electronic means.

Among the problems encountered by the bidders, we highlight those related to the delivery of documents by electronic means, with the digital signature, or with the differences of procedure between the platforms of the various public administrations. In that sense, the Oirescon see “essential to the existence of a single database of public procurement that will facilitate their work of control and provide greater transparency.