The Government has officially announced the dissolution of the National Entity for Hydraulic Works and Sanitation (ENOHSA) within a month, aiming to improve the use of state resources and avoid duplication of functions. The decision was announced in early October by the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, and ratified this Thursday through Decree 1020/2024 published in the Official Gazette, signed by President Javier Milei, Chief of Staff Guillermo Francos, and the Minister of Economy himself.
In the rationale supporting the resolution, the Government indicates that in the current context it is essential to reduce the overlap of functions among different entities, ensure better coordination in the management policies of hydraulic resources, and promote a more efficient and centralized management of hydraulic projects. It is highlighted that since the beginning of his administration, several measures have been implemented to organize public accounts and direct available resources to those who need them most.
The closure of ENOHSA is supported by the Framework Law, which authorizes the Government to reorganize, modify, or transform state entities, merge them, dissolve them wholly or partially, or transfer them to provinces or the City of Buenos Aires, ensuring the proper allocation of resources. According to the Ministry of Economy, this measure will allow for the consolidation of a unique structure to plan and control all hydraulic works, increasing transparency and efficiency in resource management.
The Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, anticipating the dissolution of ENOHSA, described it as a center of corruption and pointed out that it was created in 1995 to carry out specific works. He emphasized that the Undersecretariat of Hydraulic Resources will be able to continue with the works that were under ENOHSA, detailing that at the time of taking over the management, ENOHSA had 1,485 works in progress, of which only 122 were prioritized, and had 358 employees, a number that has been reduced to 234.
The Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Federico Sturzenegger, mentioned that many of the works supervised by the entity were municipal and provincial in scope, and that they have been redistributed to those jurisdictions, keeping only 93 residual works under the State. Sturzenegger praised the measure, making an ironic reference to Cristina Kirchner's condemnation by saying that "the chainsaw is an essential tool to reduce the tax burden on all Argentines."
