Transparency in Tender Waivers in Local Governments During Emergency Situations

ABSTRACT Using the organizational paradox perspective, the study discusses how a context of national emergency modifies the propensity for transparency in tender waivers in municipalities. The empirical analysis indicates that there are tensions in the transparency of the public procurement process and that the public control literature should consider emergency and normal contexts differently. Emergency situations, in which budgetary funds are urgently allocated to emergency contracts, require greater transparency and control to reduce the risk of misuse of funds. Paradoxically, there is a reduction in transparency and a weakening of social control. The level of transparency of local governments under the same legislation varies according to the political support and understanding of the authorities in different legislatures and mandates, and between periods of emergency and normality. It is desirable for supervisory agencies and civil society to be aware of possible regressions in transparency practices in times of emergency, even for municipalities that are examples of transparency in times of normality. A content analysis was conducted on 1,528 tender waivers in 32 small municipalities in São Paulo State from 2019 to 2020. The level of transparency of the tenders was compared before and during the first year of the pandemic. Interviews were then conducted with public officials with experience in transparency practices in these municipalities, as well as with journalists and leaders of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to validate the analysis on the transparency of the procurement process during the pandemic. Emergency situations can alter practices related to fiscal transparency in local governments when national authorities relax procurement rules. The study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic emergency led to reduced transparency in the procurement of supplies in some municipalities, particularly in contracts for supplies and services to cope with the pandemic crisis.