What are the guiding principles of public procurement?

Let's see, to talk about the guiding principles of public procurement is to get into a field where everyone swines that they are super just and transparent ... and well, sometimes not, sometimes not. The idea, in theory, is that the rules are clear and all who want to sell something to the government have the same chance.

The competition roll is key. Basically: that no one has rare levers or privileges. If a company wants to enter, then, right? That is why there are open tenders, where anyone can present their proposal and see if it hit the fat. It is like a casting, but instead of looking for the next telenovela actor, they look for who sells them cheaper toilet (or whatever).

Another thing that cannot be missing is the famous transparency. That everything is published: the bases, the criteria, why it won this or that company ... nothing "I leave it to your imagination." Because if not, you know, corruption gets to the kitchen. And here nobody wants more overpricing scandals or favoritisms (well, almost nobody).

Then there is equal treatment, which sounds very nice on brochures. It doesn't matter if you are an international giant or a lost SME in the mountains, they should treat you equally. No traps, without tricks, without discrimination. If the rule is that you deliver your proposal in envelope blue, because all in blue envelope, nothing "we accept yellow because it is quiet."

Efficiency can not stay out either. The government cannot wasting time or burning money crazy. So, if you can use technology, apps, or anything that makes the process faster and cheap, they should do it. At least on paper, because we already know that sometimes bureaucracy is resistant to change.

And of course, all this has to be attached to the law. It is not worth inventing rules on the march or skipping steps because "it got used to it." There are national laws, international rules and all that legal roll that you cannot jump.

Anyway, if all this applied well, public procurement would be almost like a utopia: fair purchases, low prices, zero tranza and all happy. If you are a company and you understand how these principles work, you have more chance to take a contract and, incidentally, help the government to do its chamba as it should. Or well, so says the manual.