| To reinforce ethical conduct and improve good practices in public procurement | The Totana City Council has adhered to the Code of Conduct in Public Procurement approved by the Governing Council of the Region of Murcia, in its session on November 5, 2020, by virtue of the plenary agreement unanimously agreed upon, at the initiative of the Mixed Municipal Group.
In this way, it has become aware of said adherence and application of the Code of Conduct in Public Procurement to the Ministry of Transparency, Participation and Public Administration and to the competent regional bodies in the matter, authorizing its publication in the Transparency Portal of the Murcia region.
The Code, which is inserted within the framework of the Institutional Integrity System approved by the Governing Council Agreement of February 27, 2019, aims to reinforce ethical conduct and improve good practices in public procurement, to promote management efficient public spending and increase its levels of transparency.
In addition, it contains ethical and behavioral principles to be followed by senior officials and other public servants who participate in the different phases of the contractual procedure, as well as by bidders and contractors.
Its recipients are not only the senior officials and public officials involved in the contracting procedures, but also the bidders and contractors, so that any entrepreneur who wishes to participate in a public tender or sign a contract with the regional Administration will be obliged to respect the ethical standards provided for in the aforementioned code.
These include, for example, not trying to influence the decisions of the boards or contracting bodies; not participate in practices aimed at distorting competition and report such actions when they perceive that they are being carried out by other companies; or not trying to seek advantage when they intervene in the course of preliminary market consultations.
It is also advocated to adhere strictly to the specifications in the execution of the contract and to draft the offers adjusting to reality to avoid having to resort to contract modifications that raise the agreed price.
On the other hand, this code introduces, as a novelty, that all public servants who intervene in the processes of awarding contracts must sign a declaration of absence of conflict of interest in which they show that they have no private interests that may compromise their impartiality in acting.
Likewise, as most outstanding aspects, it should be noted that the Code requires that the specifications be drawn up in a clear and understandable manner, that it requires publicizing the identity of the independent technicians and experts who advise the hiring tables; and recalls the importance of dividing the object of the contract into lots as a measure to favor access to contracting for SMEs.
Similarly, it is recommended not to go to the emergency procedure; emphasizes on eliminating the division of contracts from administrative practice and on promoting the use of the open procedure as a measure to guarantee the greatest publicity and concurrence in public contracting, among other preponderant ones.
