• The president of the National Assembly of Regional Governors participated in Rumbo a PERUMIN.

Recently the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic informed that there are over 1,800 paralyzed public works throughout the country, at the three government levels, for a total investment of more than PEN 21.595 billion, which is concerning given our country’s major social gaps.

For President of the National Assembly of Regional Governors Rohel Sánchez, this unfortunate situation has several causes, one of which would be the current State Procurement Act. He said so at Rumbo a PERUMIN, an event organized by the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP).

“I have a list (of causes), but there is no doubt that this has to do with the State Procurement Act, which is the most corrupted law we have in Peru. We must, therefore, review it, but we have to do it in the light of the experience of the private sector and the local and regional governments,” he pointed out.

Law 30225 or the State Procurement Act aims to promote and regulate the procurement of goods, services, and works by the government and its public entities.

Territorial Development

On the other hand, the regional governor of Arequipa pointed out that it is important for the country’s development to have a territorial approach, which must be sustainable and sound, and must give priority to the productive fabrics in the regions.

"Investments should focus on renewable energies, whose potential is not being tapped by the regions. All sustainable infrastructure must be part of this concept called prospective planning," he remarked.

Rohel Sánchez also said that one of the obstacles to territorial development is the lack of territorial cohesion, which, in turn, slows down progress of land-use planning in the country. “There are functions that need to be decentralized and given that approach in order to achieve social cohesion and ensure development and investments,” he noted.

Authentic decentralization

Furthermore, he claimed that today Peru urgently needs for the three government levels to work in an articulated manner. There is also a need for a strategic alliance among the State, private companies, civil society, and academia.

"It is the regions that have to propose, at that first level, working towards an authentic and effective decentralization in the country because, if the central government lacks that level of articulation, there will be an overlap with the sub-national governments," he said.

Along the same lines, Rohel Sánchez insisted that priority must be given to public investments in health and education, but not only in terms of infrastructure, but also in terms of human talent development, which is the cornerstone of better public management.

Mining Cluster

At another point in his participation, he stressed the importance of consolidating an alliance with the private sector, as well as with sectors such as mining, which have a great capacity to dynamize the Peruvian economy and other productive activities, like agriculture or stockbreeding.

"In Arequipa, for example, we want the mining sector, in a strategic alliance with the regional government, to create a mining cluster. As for artisanal mining, let us create a metallurgical mining park and thereby give added value to all the gold that is extracted," he said.

Rumbo a PERUMIN

Rumbo a PERUMIN is an initiative of the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP) and the Executive Committee of PERUMIN 36. It involves an agenda of virtual activities that seek to create spaces for analysis, knowledge and debate on mining.