The director general of the National Water Transport Agency (Antaq) defended financial autonomy to shield regulatory bodies from budget cuts.
According to the director, Antaq alone had funding cuts of 20% this year, out of a budget of R$63 million.
“What the agencies collect is enough to cover the budget they currently consume…I would say that this is the main instrument (budgetary independence)”, Nery told the CNN Interviews.
Nery still believes that the independence of regulatory agencies is also essential to guarantee legal security for companies that intend to make investments in the country.
“Every time there is some type of interference, it is clear that the private sector feels insecure about new concessions, because they say ‘look, if the rules of the game change with each new government, I won’t feel comfortable here. these investments’, or worse, it will increase the risk of these investments, so in the end a concession ends up being more expensive for the end user whenever we have a scenario of legal uncertainty”, he commented.
Nery considers it important to establish the general law on regulatory agencies in 2019. For him, there have been advances such as the establishment of mandates.
However, the director recognizes that there is still a lack of knowledge about the actions and role of regulatory agencies.
Despite arguing that agencies need to shield themselves from political comments, Nery points out that the Executive and Legislative powers need to be aware of the role of regulation.
“Sometimes a certain moment, which sometimes even a government official may not be so well contextualized in relation to that deliberation, or some type of process that is being conducted by the agency”
During a visit to a pharmaceutical company in the interior of São Paulo, in August, and asked for speed in the release of new medicines, which caused a response from the agency.
