Source: Agecom, 04/12/2007

The government of Bahia expects to save, by 2010, approximately R $ 410 million "just by cutting bad spending" in the costing area, as announced by Governor Jaques Wagner, when giving a lecture today (4), in São Paulo, at the seminar promoted by the Brazilian Institute of Competitive Ethics (Etco). The good numbers are expected, according to him, due to the measures taken this year by the State to improve public spending, like the project already sent to the Legislative Assembly for the institution of the State's Comptroller General (CGE).

"It will be another important instrument for a modern public administration, allowing for internal control, without replacing the fundamental role played by the Legislative Assembly and the State Court of Auditors," said Wagner about CGE. The idea, according to him, is to standardize the procedures of all government agencies, improving performance. "This is only done with transparency, participation by society in the inspection and implementation of modern public management instruments," he said.

The project to create an internal control body, the new bidding methodology and the creation of the Transparência-Bahia website - which allows citizens to have access to State revenues and expenses - were some of the reasons that led São Paulo's entrepreneurs to invite Wagner to participate in the event, whose central theme dealt with ethics and the business environment. The Bahian governor also announced that he expects to publish the new methodology in a maximum of 30 days, as well as the contracts and bidding notices in Transparência-Bahia.

Wagner gave the closing lecture of the seminar that also addressed the culture of transgressions and bureaucracy, with the participation of the governor of São Paulo, José Serra, and ex-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso. For the organizers of the event, the quality of public spending is one of the ways of combating eventual needs to increase revenue, with an increase in the tax burden, as explained by the president of the Etco Institute, André Montoro.

Credibility

“The last episodes that involved some Bahian businessmen show that everything we did has been working, since until then many people had appropriated the Bahian State, benefiting personally and harming the majority of the population”, said Wagner, also highlighting anti-corruption measures and operations carried out by the federal police. He also reaffirmed his position in favor of the CPMF to face health expenditures, also highlighting the federal government's efforts to increasingly promote quality in spending.
 

Source: Agecom - General Social Communication Advisory of the Government of the State of Bahia