The current board of directors in ABES, reflecting a consensual thought of the associates and the sector as well, has a firm position regarding the universalisation of environmental sanitation.
Despite all the efforts, the indicators of environmental sanitation continue to rank Brazil in an uncomfortable position in the concert of developed nations. Brazil is a country where seven million people don´t have bathrooms at home, and 50% of the population doesn´t have wastewater treatment. As well as the lack of physical structure, there´s is also the lack of education and information.
A research from IBOPE (National Institute of Statistical and Public Opinion) related that 60 million Brazilians don´t even know what basic sanitation is and what is the destination of their wastewater. It is true that investments in sanitation have considerably grown in the last few years, reaching a standard of R$ 8,5 billion in 2011. Surprisingly, the incorporation of Brazilian homes to the environmental sanitation services experienced growth of only 2,5% in the last years, which fell short of demand evolution as reported by the National Household Sample Research (PNAD/IBGE).
ABES offers the Federal Government, states and municipalities, access to engineering and managing technical support as well as training and development of human talents and staffs. The quantification of resources to reach universalisation is of about 370 billion reais depending on the source. There are divergences regarding the deadline for the universalisation to be reached. Some researchers say it would be of 60 years if the historic levels of investment in the sector continue. PLANSAB establishes the goal of 20 years.
Brazil has made serious commitment with the execution of infrastructure works for the realization of the 2013 Confederations Cup , 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The government initiative to expedite the contractions was the promulgation of the Law 12.462, from 05/08/2011, which institutes the Differentiated Scheme of Public Procurement (RDC). It makes the inversion of steps in the bidding process, easing it: first, the choice of the best proposal and after the examination of documentation. Another action is the preferential adoption of schemes of global price task work, integral task work and integrated recruitment.
ABES has been helping sanitation operating companies to create a modern managing environment that will be efficient in every dimension and result-effective by the National Sanitation Quality Award (PNQS). The quality oriented managing has already produced positive results coming from public companies –municipal and state-, as well as from private concessionaires in sanitation sector.
The Federal Law 11.445/2007, regulated in 2010 and which establishes national guidelines for the basic sanitation, was a great achievement for ABES. The Law has as one of its main principles, the universalisation of the access to sanitation services.
