José Genoino, chairman of the Workers Party (PT), said Friday, June 27, that the regulatory framework for the telecommunications sector should be left intact but called for two specific changes. One is that Anatel should be obliged to report to Congress; the law doesn?t explicitly call for that at present. He also said there was a need for clearer rules on regulated tariff reviews.
Mr Genoino declined to answer questions on the relations between Anatel and Communications Minister Miro Teixeira or the Executive branch in general, arguing that it wouldn?t be appropriate to do so as he?s not a member of the Government.
The party has been advocating such changes ever since Anatel was set up, he said. The same applies to Aneel, the power industry regulator, and ANP, the oil industry regulator. The idea deserves a public debate so the whole of society can express an opinion, but this isn?t an appropriate time despite the clash of views between Anatel and the Government over the recent telephone tariff review. The Government?s absolute priorities right now are the tax and pension reforms, he said.
José Genoino said the tension over the telephone tariff review shows foreign investors can continue to have confidence in Brazil because the Workers Party respects the rule of law and the contracts in force. The Government is also demonstrating realism in handling the difficult legacy bequeathed by its predecessor, he added.
?Changes have to be made gradually. It would be wrong to rush them. But they will be made,? he said. The privatized utilities provide services under private law, and the Government intends to continue treating them as partners. ?We don?t want to destabilize our partnership with private enterprise because the public sector has other investment priorities. We would like to see a process of negotiations on changes to the strategic relationship between the public and private sectors.?
