The director of the National Administration of State Sanitary Works (OSE) for him Broad Front (FA), Edgardo Ortuno, again criticized the actions of the state company during the water crisis and questioned the economic management of the works to face the water emergency in the metropolitan area of Uruguay.
As happened during the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the direct purchases were a situation to which the State had to resort through its companies, for reasons of urgency that warrant the worst moments of the emergency due to the minimum levels in the reserves of Severine Pass —which today are tending towards an improvement, but rather towards “normalisation”. During the last months, this was the argument used by OSE.
However, both Ortuño and the union of the entity (FFOSE), indicated that if the works had been carried out when the agricultural emergency in October 2022 —the first red alert about the extreme water situation in the country— or when the restrictions on the use of drinking water in the most affected areas February this year, the costs of emergency works would have been much lower.
OSE expenses
According to a survey carried out by the team of the Frente Amplio director in OSE, Since April, the state company has spent 38.6 million dollars on works aimed at alleviating the water crisis. The purchases were directed to dredging and catchment works downstream of running waters, in the river St. Lucia; to prey on Belastiqui Pass to retain water Silver river; and the works of the river Saint Joseph.
But, in addition, according to Ortuño, the list of expenses is long: 129,000 dollars for the purchase of the desalination plant of the Technological University (UTEC); $600,000 in water delivery by trucks to hospitals, sanatoriums and public schools; another 600,000 dollars in the distribution of bottled water through the Ministry of Social Development; and $49,000 for the emergency supply of bottled water, among other actions. In total, the team of the director of the FA in OSE estimates that the cost of addressing the water deficit in the metropolitan area was, up to now, 41 million dollars.
To understand the front, if the works had been done on time “we would have been able to process purchases at lower costs. There was an increase in the cost of these emergency works because they were raised late. By way of example, he pointed out that the purchase of the pipes, which ultimately ended up costing OSE close to 20 million dollars, could have been made at a cost of at least 8 million dollars less if the offer of a Chinese company had been accepted, which was not considered because the pipes took a month to arrive in the country. “The government ended up adopting decisions and measures at a higher cost and in emergency terms and with direct purchase procedures at higher costs that could have been avoided with forecasting and better management”, he questioned.
In the same line, Frederick Kreimerman, President of FFOSE, evaluated that “if the works of the transfer of the San José river had begun on time, a traditional tender could have been made.” “Obviously it’s getting much more expensive, it’s the inefficiency product of having delayeda lot of money is being spent,” he said.
OSE, with numbers in red
OSE’s cost overruns come in a situation where the state-owned company was already in financial trouble. Between 2019 and 2023, investments fell in constant terms almost 30% —contemplating the inflationary effect—, while the budget operating decreased 13% in the same period.
“We have an underfunded company, when it should be the opposite, we should be prioritizing that public company,” questioned Ortuño, who denounced that at the end of the current administration there will have been a $208 million cut of works with respect to what the previous administration had planned.
The current government of Luis Lacalle Pou he opted for private initiatives for sanitation and potable water, which, in any case, will have an impact on OSE’s budget for years. First of all, the project Arazati, for which the State must disburse 41 million dollars over 20 years and, on the other, the private sanitation initiative approved in December 2022.
On the other hand, the union denounces that the number of civil servants continues to falland these are some of the reasons why they went to war this week, along with other public guilds.
Source: Ambito
