Asunción Municipality Prefers Renting Trucks to Buying Six New Ones Amid Financial Crisis

The Municipality of Asunción is prioritizing the rental of garbage trucks over purchasing new ones, despite facing a significant financial crisis. Mayor Luis Bello's administration intends to spend G. 6.376 billion on temporary truck rentals, a figure that could have funded the acquisition of up to six new vehicles.

This move exacerbates the municipality's existing financial and waste collection problems, which were inherited from the previous administration. The funds allocated for these temporary rentals are substantial enough to acquire a fleet of modern, self-compacting waste disposal vehicles.

Simultaneously, Bello's administration is finalizing a controversial direct purchase of 11 trucks, expected to be delivered soon. Councilman Álvaro Grau has denounced this direct purchase, valued at G. 13.606 billion, as a tactic to circumvent standard procurement controls.

Grau argues that the rental budget alone could cover the purchase of six new single-axle trucks, or four heavy-duty, double-axle trucks, based on the municipality's own reference prices for direct purchases. The proposed rental extension, which the Municipal Board's commissions are urging to approve urgently, would benefit companies Depósito San Cristóbal and El Palacio S.A. and extend the rental business until December, coinciding with the expected arrival of the directly purchased trucks.