Even though shortages and logistical problems within the Antarctic campaign have consistently been on the news for the past couple of weeks, at The Auditor.info we recall the latest report from the General Auditor’s Office (AGN), in which the problems of planning and the details of transportation hiring are explained thoroughly.

The 2011 report approved by AGN stated that, "in 2009 the dissolution of the Joint Logistics Department was applied, relocating their functions to different departments". Because of this situation, "the logistics process is in a transitional stage and therefore did not meet the time requirements necessary to the Antarctic Summer Campaign (CAV)".

At CAV, personnel changes as well as provisioning of the Argentine base are attended. The Joint Staff of the Armed Forces (JSAF) "deals with the planning, direction, and execution of all logistic activities and also budget control of the expenses required by the Antarctic Joint Command (COCOANTAR)," which shapes the annual procurement plan and the draft budget for the program in question.

According to the report, the Joint Chiefs argued that "the transition process which was the Antarctic logical mainstay was duly resolved in Directive No. 12/08 on November 2008 (one year before the dissolution of the Logistics Directorate)," where responsibilities, duties, and functions where held. The JSAF asked that "the implementation and adequacy" of this Directive should be evaluated in a future audit.
The Antarctic summer campaign has not yet reached even half of its provisions and they report that it is likely that within the following days costs will increase. With all of these unexplored questions raised by the media, will the logistics process stay in a transition state?

Contracts 

Following the Irízar fire in 2007, it was decided that transportation had to be rented. Between 2008 and 2009, the company that won the public tender was named "Transport & Services". However, the auditors found that this company "did not meet the necessary requirements to act as a representative of a foreign company," they also expressed that at the time of the bidding "Transport & Services” was "the only bidder that showed up.” According to the daily newspaper, La Nación, this year they hired the same company again. They did it by locating a company in Uruguay and bidding through a Dutch-flagged ship. Military sources confirmed that today the aircraft is out of service at the Marambio base, waiting for spare parts."
In its latest report published in June 2011, which evaluated the 2008-2009 campaign, the federal watchdog observed "a budget increase of almost 90% due to funding for rented transportation” 

The report also explains that "the goods and services needed to carry out activities in the Antarctic have an unusual degree of complexity in the field of the public procurement system." To which they add that "the acquisition of goods and services takes place mainly in the fourth quarter of the summer season, this represents an 85% of the total purchases necessary." This generates "a large concentration of activities in the last months of the year which complicates the handling of the selection procedures."

In fact, the campaign plan, which is a task that corresponds to the Antarctic Joint Commander, was issued only "22 days before the formal start of the Summer Campaign".

The above situation prompted the auditors to recommend that they "initiate discussions for necessary technical regulations which would allow contouring acquisitions with the appropriate procedures," nothing more than a specific hiring method.