President Abinader Enacts Comprehensive Public Procurement Law

Teodoro Tejada, former president of the Dominican Republic's College of Architects and Civil Engineers (CODIA), positively assessed the Public Procurement Law (Law 47-25) enacted by President Luis Abinader on July 28 last year.

Tejada explained that this new legislation will establish a new regulatory framework for bidding and public contracting processes, and as President Abinader emphasized, the law is inclusive and participatory, taking into account small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and women. It also includes provisions for imprisonment of public officials who violate the law.

Replaces Existing Law 340-06, Expands to 248 Articles

The new law significantly expands the existing Law 340-06 (30 articles) to 248 articles, strengthening aspects that ensure the sustainability of national resource management. Tejada warned that despite the President enacting such a transparency-focused law, it would be meaningless if the Public Procurement Directorate again issues guidelines that are "odious, exclusionary, abusive, and a conduit for corruption."

Abolition of Past Exclusionary Guidelines

Tejada specifically pointed to Public Procurement Directorate Guideline 44-PNP-2023-0011. This guideline set excessive financial requirements for open bidding processes in Articles 7.1 and 7.2, including 15% requirements for SMEs and 30% for individuals or corporations.

He explained, "This guideline was based on Article 8.3 of Law 340-06, but Article 245 of the new law invalidated it, leading to its abolition along with related implementing decrees Law 449-06 and Law 416-23." Tejada criticized that such exclusionary guidelines prevented more than 95% of the country's suppliers from participating in open bidding.

Expectations for Enhanced Transparency and Participation

Tejada expressed gratitude to President Abinader for promoting this new law to enhance transparency in public procurement. He stated, "This law imposes democratic, participatory, and pluralistic transparency on public procurement," and expressed hope that the President would manage to prevent the Public Procurement Directorate from issuing exclusionary guidelines again.

Tejada, who is also a construction industry entrepreneur, predicted that this legislation will bring substantial changes to the Dominican Republic's public procurement system.