President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Wednesday (5) that the federal government is finalizing the list of priority projects presented by the states and that will count on investments from the Union. The statement was made during meeting with governorsat the Planalto Palace, where the president signed decrees with new rules for the basic sanitation sector.
“Soon, we will be calling the governors for another new meeting, because, in the one where you presented the project for each state, what was the preference has already been worked on by the Civil House, it is almost ready for us to call you back and say those projects that we will be able to put into practice”, stated Lula.
The investment plan for works is being led by the Minister of the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic, Rui Costa, who received the priority requests from the governors throughout February.
Sanitation
During the event, Lula signed two new decrees that change the legal framework for basic sanitation. Among the changes is the end of the 25% limit for carrying out Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) by the states. With this, state-owned companies will be able to maintain and expand new contracts, in addition to stimulating the participation of the private sector.
In the old rule, the contract would have to have at least 75% of the resources coming from the private sector and a maximum of 25% coming from the state body. The rules will also set a deadline for state sanitation companies to adjust their own financial situation and maintain investments.
When speaking about the measures, Lula highlighted the resumption that the decrees are “a vote of confidence in public companies that provide services to the population”.
According to the government, the measure will benefit 29.8 million inhabitants, residing in 1,113 municipalities. Under current rules, these municipalities had their contracts with state providers declared irregular and, therefore, could not count on federal funds to seek universalization.
Also according to the government, the purpose of the changes is to unlock and attract R$ 120 billion in public and private investments to universalize water and sewage services by 2033. The decrees regulate Law 11,445/2007, amended by Law 14,026/2020 , which defines the guidelines for sanitation in the country.
“If this doesn’t work out, it’s everyone’s failure. If this doesn’t work out, it’s not your fault. If it works, everyone will win, because the Brazilian population will win”, said Lula, also recalling the social impact of sanitation in areas such as health and the environment.
