2% savings could yield 30 billion

By saving 2% when it comes to public procurement, it would be possible to achieve 6 billion efficiency annually and thus 30 billion over a five -year period. This is considered by the government's optimization group to be a realistic goal of targeted actions.

The proposals of the working group were presented earlier today, where savings proposals of ISK 71 billion over a five -year period were proposed. The largest single item in these proposals is public procurement, as the so-called A-part of the state now protects about 60 billion annually in public procurement. That makes 300 billion over the period in question.

The role of the Treasury will be examined

It is stated in the proposals that there are great opportunities for optimization that the newly assembled financial institution needs to lead. « Electronic connections between accounts and contracts are lacking. Companies need to make procurement plans to a greater extent. Many contracts are expired. Others are too wise, but it is today that framework agreements are open to municipalities and various associations unrelated to the state and therefore cannot be given or enforced quantity, ”says the proposals.

It is proposed that the role of the Treasury be examined with regard to competition with private parties that provide purchasing services. Particular emphasis is placed on information technology in this context.

The working group believes that as early as this year, savings measures can be undertaken in public procurement and that 6 billion savings annually should be well -realistic.

Been on the drawing board for over a decade

Savings in public procurement have been high in the minds of the Minister of Finance for some time, but in 2014 a working group was established to review the state procurement issues. In fact, the chairman of that group was that the state did not have an overview of the tens of billions of annual procurement.

Bjarni Benediktsson, the then Minister of Finance, had previously said that no one had 190 procurement manager and referred to a number of government agencies and that the procurement should be added MA with quantity purchases instead of each institution to choose for example different chairs, even if it caused more homogeneity.

Bjarni then thought that it should be possible to save 2-4 billion annually with better planning of government agencies.

Consistent with state governors

In 2023, or about 8 years after Bjarni's comments, a journalist re -discussed him about the results of these procurement issues. At the same time, Bjarni had held a meeting on the state of fiscal and cutting and restraint plans in government operations by 2024.

He then believed that procurement could be reduced considerably and that such results had been achieved by certain institutions. However, the process could have gone faster and said that the main problem was the lack of data for the State Purchase and that the agency's access had been opened into the state accounting. This could be compared to how procurement was practiced with different organizations.

Bjarni Benediktsson, the then Minister of Finance, said various state governors have been uncooperative when it came to achieving savings in public procurement.

mbl.is/kristinn Magnússon

Bjarni said on the occasion that he knew that the governors had been uncooperative when it came to achieving savings with group purchases and to reduce public procurement.