affirmed that the Government is seeking to complete public works which were left halfway through construction, and that a specific regulation has been approved to achieve this objective.
"We issued a legislative decree 15 days ago approving a rapid awarding procedure to complete or finish as soon as possible the projects that have been left half-finished," the government official said in remarks to TV Peru on Tuesday.
"Definitely, I always repeat this: the worst way to waste money is to leave a project half-finished, because the initial capital is wasted, as over time the iron rusts and the material begins to deteriorate, without being put at the service of the population," Arista expressed.
"If you build a school or a hospital and leave it half-finished, it is of no use to anyone. So, what we are trying to do is to resume these projects and complete them as swiftly as possible," he added.
Minister Arista commented that there are regional and local governments that do not have the necessary capacity to execute a project, which requires plenty of technical knowledge and strong financial backing.
"It is not concluded because there has not been the necessary expertise to move forward with these assignments. A certain (level of) experience is required to advance these large projects, which are complicated," Arista indicated.
"The Tingo Maria Hospital has been stalled for 10 years, and that shouldn't be the case; it is (Peruvian) State money, it is of no use to anyone, that is the worst way to invest. Therefore, we are looking for a way to organize ourselves so that (public) works that are started are completed in the shortest time and at the lowest cost so as to put them at the service of the population," he added.
The Cabinet member said that the Comptroller General of the Republic overextended itself in the audits of public works, which generated a certain stagnation among officials in executing or advancing projects.
"Currently, we are trying, through legislative decrees, to provide more space to (public) work executors, governors, mayors, and authorities, enabling them to advance these projects and make them available for public use," Arista stated.
"I will not deny that the intervention of the Comptroller General's Office is important and necessary, but it has also committed excesses," he added.