Mer-Link and CompraRed are fighting each other, "as if they were two private companies seeking to address the issue of the Costa Rican state."
An article on Crhoy reports that "Deputies are asking the government to accelerate the transfer of purchases to the Mer-Link system ... Members of the Committee on Revenue and Public Expenditure yesterday received representatives from Digital Government and the Ministry of Finance, who are fighting over which is the best system to use for public procurement."
Transparency in purchases made by the State is the main barrier to combating corruption of public officials and the only way to ensure fair competition between suppliers.
In all Central American countries resistance to single platforms for government procurement is headed by public officials who thrive on the old systems of administration which kept processes and decisions regarding expenditure in the dark.
The Ministry of Transport and Public Works will put the works out to tender at the end of the first quarter of 2014.
From a Press Release by the Presidential House of Costa Rica:
"By signing an addendum to the voluntary agreement between the Association Council for Real Estate Development (CODI) and the National Council for Roads (Conavi) there will be an extension to 5 -lanes of the ring road Santa Ana- Belen two kilometers long, and 4 bridges located on this highway in which an investment of $34 million is estimated to be carried out. The first phase of work will involve the relocation of utilities and will start next January in order to have the necessary space to allow extending the lanes.
After a long process the decree establishing the mandatory use of Mer-Link in procurement processes has been signed.
Nacion.com reports that "Treasury officials on Tuesday signed a decree establishing a unified procurement system, which will begin operations in January."
Accordingly, the Comprared system will ceased to be used definitively on January 1, 2014.
The struggle between the two main systems used for Costa Rican government purchases could end with Mer-Link being the winner.
From a press release issued by the President of Costa Rica:
In order to facilitate the establishment of a National System of Public Procurement, the president of the Republic, Laura Chinchilla Miranda, signed this morning a guideline for all the institutions which make up the Civil Service to unify their methods of procuring goods and services.
In Costa Rica fifteen state institutions use different digital systems for the dissemination and management of purchasing goods and services.
The Costa Rican government is planning to unify state purchases by institutions under a single technology platform.
President Laura Chinchilla has formed a procurement committee that will define the steps required for using a single digital system for purchases by state institutions.
President Laura Chinchilla announced a public tender of a contract for finishing the works on the stretch of road alongside the San Juan River, on the border with Nicaragua.
The president said at a press conference that the government is looking for sources of funding in order to complete the work.
The administration's plan is to have the process completed by the end of the year, so work would start in January 2013, when the dry season starts.
Projects include road construction at Bajos de Chilamate-Vuelta Kooper, widening of the Inter-American Highway, construction and rehabilitation of bridges as well as road maintenance.
The President and the Minister of MOPT, Francisco Jimenez, announced an international tender for the widening of the Inter-American Highway at the section between Cañas and Liberia (50.6km) and a tender to build the new road from Bajos de Chilamate Bajos de Chilamate en Sarapiquí y Vuelta de Kooper en San Carlos (27 km)in Sarapiquí to Vuelta de Kooper in San Carlos (27 km), which will be vital in connecting the Northern area of the country with the Caribbean.
The opening of the telecommunications market in Costa Rica could create 3.500 jobs in the short term.
This was one of the conclusions of a forum called “Opening of the Telecom Market: What is in store for us?”
Its participants also agreed that “once the activity is set loose, it could become one of the drivers of economic growth”.
Carlos Gallegos, telecommunications partner at Deloitte, commented that there is evidence that every 10% increase in broadband penetration translates into 0.5% of Gross Domestic Product in Costa Rica.