Republic of Paraguay : Country Procurement Assessment Review

The findings of this report confirm the long deeply felt need for modernization of the public procurement and contract management functions in Paraguay. The report recommends specific actions on the legal framework, procedures, organization and resources conducive to achieve that objective. however, modernization should not be approached in isolation from other state modernization initiatives. On the contrary, the success of procurement modernization is highly contingent on the successful implementation of reform initiatives in other areas such as financial management, civil service, government structure, the Office of the Comptroller General, etc. To a certain extent Paraguay is overwhelmed by parallel technical assistance operations competing for government attention and resources. The chalenge is to achieve an effective cordination of the various modernization initiative making use of and enhancing the limited poool of national resources, and bringing in different external views and expertise. The goals and pace of reform should be consistent with the country's technical and financial absorptive capacity.