El control municipal de las concesiones administrativas de servicios públicos

The Public Sector Contracts Law, as a central piece of the legal system, establishes an exhaustive regulatory framework, although it can be improved, on the control in the execution phase of service concession contracts, which is reported in this work. This regulation grants the public administration the power to monitor and supervise the actions of the concessionaire, obliging the contracting body to establish a control and supervision structure that guarantees compliance with the conditions and legal obligations by the concessionaire, as well as the defense of the general interest and the quality of the concessioned public services. Despite having a legal framework, in practice many municipalities face limitations derived from the shortage of qualified personnel and adequate resources to exercise effective control and supervision of contracts. This situation can lead to poor or non-existent monitoring and control in many cases, substantially increasing the risk of contractual breaches by the concessionaire, which in particular can have a negative impact on the quality of services. To mitigate these risks, it is considered essential that local entities adopt measures aimed at strengthening the supervision of contracts. Among these measures, the assignment of trained personnel stands out, both in the phase of preparing the specifications, regulations and feasibility studies, as well as in the supervision and continuous monitoring of contracts; the preparation of internal instructions and protocols to follow in the supervision of contracts; the use of technological tools; the dissemination of the results of the supervision actions in the contractor's profile; a greater role for users, incorporating citizen participation mechanisms in the specifications and regulations, such as surveys or platforms that allow the collection of user evaluations and suggestions on the quality of public services and the permanent training of the personnel in charge of supervising contracts in matters of regulations, best practices and management tools.