For maintenance of the trees in the Federal Capital, since 2005 the city was divided into six zones, two of which were held under the aegis of the local state and the remaining four were in charge of the companies that obtained the tender 2/05 . The Buenos Aires Audit (AGCBA, for its acronym in Spanish) wanted to know details of that zoning but as the area in charge of the issue, the Department of Urban Trees (DGARB) did not provide information, the audit had to build the map from a cut out of the Clarín newspaper published November 25th 2005 (see facsimile).

The Directorate General of Urban Trees (DGARB, for its acronym in Spanish) was created by decree in 2009 to maintain and care for the tree specimens of the City of Buenos Aires, to address claims that may arise, as the order of cutting branches to clear fixtures or break paths for root growth, damage to cars and homes caused by falls, and to control companies that perform tree maintenance.

The audit noted that when it asked DGARB to detail the maintenance areas of woodland for the years 2009 and 2010, in which it should clarify "briefly how it came up with that zoning", it did not. According to the AGCBA's report, there were modifications to the tender after the bid that officials could not explain.

The Directorate of Woodland gave the AGCBA a map where areas for the maintenance of urban trees in 2009 were outlined. This document could be seen that areas 3 and 5 were now forming a single zone, called Zone 5. According to the reports by the DGARB coordinator, Zone 5 is operated by agents of the City Government and controlled by a new private company called SUDAM SA.

The audit indicated that "in conjunction with the previous map, they also received another, for 2010, in which another zoning and other companies providing the service is appreciated." There are two new areas such as detachment zones 1 and 5, operated by two new companies: COSUGAS SRL and CONSTRUPARQ SRL. Moreover, the rest of Zone 5 appears divided into two zones, one operated by the State, CONSTRUPARQ SRL, and another by the City Government and the company Macchi SA House.

On this point, the AGCBA concluded that the Directorate of Trees "did not provide information on how it came to new zoning as well as the companies that are seen in the maps submitted by the audited", even though those details were requested repeatedly .

In addition, the audit noted that it could not have access to contracts that allowed the entry of new contractors.

Procurement

In 2009, at the time of the data collection, the AGCBA noted that there were no bid contracts. When it consulted the head of the Directorate of Urban Trees, they admitted that the contracts had expired and that they were working through direct contracting.

The watchdog said that contracts had lasted two years and an extension for another year. The services started at 15/11/05 and ended 15/11/07, at that point it was extended until 15/11/08. The contractors were required to continue providing the service within 90 calendar days more. Therefore, recruitment has been expired since 15/02/09.

The report of the Audit of the City noted that despite this, "they didn’t have access to supporting documentation related to contracts that actually continued recruitment of woodland maintenance service caused by the tender, as well as allowed the entry of new contractors directly.”

Inspections

The Directorate General of Urban Trees should carry out inspection on the implementation of the work requested from contractors. The task of the inspectors was limited to the verification of the complaint, diagnosis, and development of a final certification of the work performed.

The AGCBA interviewed Operational Director DGARB, who admitted that in 2009 there had been virtually no inspections or controls on contractors working the woodland.