State Reform Minister Pledges to Overhaul Public Administration to Boost Competitiveness
The Assistant Minister for State Reform, Gonçalo Matias, affirmed this Wednesday that the government's objective is not to “implode the State,” but rather to implement a profound internal reform to make it more agile and efficient. During his speech at the annual conference of the Administrative Arbitration Council (CAAD), promoted by Jornal Económico, the minister stressed the need for a pragmatic approach to modernization. “We don't have time to destroy the State and start over, for better or worse. We have to reform the State from within while we are moving and the train is in motion, while we attract foreign investment, while we ensure that talent stays here, that Portuguese entrepreneurs continue to invest in our country,” Matias declared, framing the initiative as a critical “national design.”
The government's policy aims to tackle systemic inefficiencies that hinder economic growth and investment. Gonçalo Matias warned that the effort would be substantial and called for a unified national effort. “If we are not all united in this design, we will not get there,” he stated, outlining a comprehensive four-year timeline for the reform. He explained that a transformation of this magnitude, which involves changing institutional mentalities and leveraging technology, requires a sustained commitment. “To carry out a serious state reform, from the inside, that enters the institutions, that uses technology, that changes the mentality... a reform of this depth cannot be done in less than four years,” he detailed, while reassuring that the first results of the ongoing process are already becoming apparent.
A central pillar of this strategy is the digital transformation of public services. The minister announced the imminent appointment of a national Chief Technical Officer (CTO), a position created within the newly restructured Agency for the Technological Reform of the State (ARTE), formerly the Agency for Administrative Modernization (AMA). This agency will be tasked with leading the technological overhaul across the government. The reform process will proceed with a ministry-by-ministry review, aimed at merging and eliminating redundant entities to streamline operations. This phase has already commenced with the Ministry of Education and Science, with a projected completion by the end of the first half of 2026.
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A key announcement with significant implications for the national economy and investment climate was the government's plan to amend the Public Procurement Code. Minister Matias highlighted the current paralysis in decision-making, where processes are often stalled by delays or legal challenges. “It is practically impossible to make a decision in Portugal today. Either public entities refuse to decide, or they delay, or when they do decide, there is a challenge that stops the process,” he argued. The government intends to use the available “margin within the European directive's law” to introduce flexibility into the code, transforming it from a source of paralysis into a tool for national competitiveness. This move is seen as essential for accelerating public and private projects, including those in the real estate and construction sectors.
The minister projected that a clear image of this reformed state would be visible by the end of next year, but achieving the full scope of the promised results would require the full four-year term and broad collaboration. Gonçalo Matias concluded by asking for confidence in the government's work, which he promised would lead to a “fairer, more prosperous, more agile, and more efficient state.” The policy's success hinges on a deep-seated transformation of how the state operates and interacts with citizens and businesses, a challenge the government appears ready to confront head-on.
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