Salvini: the government’s most important initiative
At the end of the executive meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, and the Undersecretary to the Presidency, Alfredo Mantovano, took part in a press conference in the multipurpose hall of the Prime Minister’s Office. «The best battle against corruption and malfeasance that there can be, the shorter the process the fewer offices you have to go through, the faster the contract is, the more difficult it is for the corrupt to meet the corruptor. The new Procurement Code helps small municipalities, halves the guarantees asked of companies,” said Salvini. «It was an important step – added the Northern League -, the most important initiative for 55 days since we took the oath. This new code will have to cut bureaucracy and waste, it will have to offer more work, it will help SMEs, it will allow construction sites to be opened more quickly. And it will create jobs.”
«The credit threshold has been raised
In the new procurement code, the minister explained, “there is an increase in the threshold for awarding work on indications from the Council of State under which the municipalities can proceed with the procurement directly without making further steps, it is more than 80% of the contracts”. According to Salvini, “if this code were already in force, 80% of contracts would be quicker, faster, more effective and innovative and that means work”.
Mantovano, to Anac role consistent with functions
Mantovano explained that the Anac «has a role within the procurement code consistent with its function, prerogatives were envisaged which were then eliminated in the text approved by the CDM. This is not the last word,” he added, during the parliamentary process, “all those entitled to formulate improvement proposals” will be able to do so. Mantovano underlined that there was “absolute agreement” between the Council of State and the government in the drafting of the procurement code, “I don’t see all these conflicts” but “we will be happy to read” the findings of the Anac “once they send us their considerations”.
Pnrr: public services, in-house assignments only if motivated
In the case of in-house assignments “of an amount exceeding the thresholds of European relevance” in the field of public contracts, a “qualified motivation” is needed from the local authority, for the choice or confirmation of the self-production model for the purposes of an “efficient management” of the service, which “gives account”, also on the basis of the standard models prepared by the competent authorities, “of the benefits for the community”. This can be read in the draft of the legislative decree scheme for the reorganization of local public services of economic importance examined by the CDM which, in line with the Pnrr, provides for a boost to tenders and competition.
The point of the control room on the Plan
On the other hand, as regards the Pnrr and the point made with the individual ministries during the control room, out of 55 Pnrr objectives to be achieved by 31 December 2022, 40 have been achieved. «The remaining 15 have all been started and in finalization course. This is what can be read in the note from Palazzo Chigi after the second meeting of the control room on the Pnrr coordinated by the Minister for European Affairs, Territorial Cohesion and the Pnrr Raffaele Fitto, to monitor the state of implementation of the objectives of the Plan with particular reference to the next deadline of 31 December 2022.