Streamlining purchasing processes with a view to the future and an internal restructuring in terms of representation on the board of directors are just two of the main changes proposed to the reforms to the Law Institute for Recreation of Private Company Workers of Guatemala (Irtra).
The aforementioned initiative was presented in November 2023 before the Legislature and has already gone through first and second readings, so it is expected to be approved in the coming weeks.
Ricardo Castillo Sinibaldi, president of Irtra, explained to Free Press the scope proposed in the specifications of modifications.
How do you define the services that Irtra currently provides?
The Irtra is a recreation institution for workers of private companies in Guatemala, which began to take shape in the 1960s. The Chamber of Industry, which was the promoter, brought together representative sectors of the different parts of the economy of the country, to provide workers, in addition to their salary, with where to have fun, and it was concluded that it should be an institution.
The institution was formed in 1962, by decree 1528 Law of Creation of Irtra, with two representatives from the industry sector; two from commerce, one from the Chamber of Commerce and the other from the Merchants Association; two from the agricultural sector (and the law was already issued when they said they were not participating, but the two chairs are there); two delegates from organized workers in the private sector; and a representative of the Executive, which is the only relationship that the government has with us.
But the President of the Republic does not appoint any delegate and does not provide any contribution for the operation and investment of Irtra, so it is only the business sector that supports and pays for it.
The Comptroller General of Accounts is the one that supervises us from day one and there has never been a problem with the administration, since there is a healthy administration.
What is the trajectory since its creation?
We have received 94 million 466 thousand 643 employees, which is the total number of visitors since its foundation, but at the beginning we were small and today we are big. In the last 10 years, we have received 37 million people.
The growth in the Retalhuleu area is enormous and as of February 16 of this year we have 5,252 employees; In Reu alone there are 4,068, which is the payroll. That means that we have complied with what the law requires us to do, which is to serve the workers of private companies.
Irtra is a company that is dedicated to providing recreation services to families with great quality and decency. We welcome visitors with great joy so that they have happiness, and that is why we coined the word congratulate, because that’s what we do: give happiness to families. The vast majority are employees of the private sector and I believe that we have served Guatemala.
What does the bill being discussed consist of?
It is simply to organize and update us; It is not for it is to change any of its purposes. For example, the Purchase Law that the State has is a regulation that was created so that the State does not work and creates many obstacles. That is why many Guatemalan companies do not sell to the State because everything requires a distributor, which makes the products more expensive. Then the purchasing procedures, which are quotation or bidding, have such a long process that it takes up to five months to be able to purchase an item.
So what happens? If one of our mechanical games breaks down, it must be repaired immediately, but it cannot be purchased because the legal process must be followed, until it reaches the time of bidding or opening of escrow according to the quote. Meanwhile, the game was stopped for three months, not because of the administration, but because of the laws. And so, the same thing happens with all the inputs.
So, what we are asking now is to be able to take advantage of an exception article, which already exists in the Purchase Law, already used by Inde, the Bank of Guatemala and other entities, to make our purchases more agile. This is what we are proposing in our law extensions.
So Irtra seeks to be able to participate in the exception articles?
Yeah. To expedite purchases, the only way we have is that. We try to ensure that all our actions are legal. The growth of Irtra is very great and those are the facilities we want.
What is the other approach in the bill?
Sort our board of directors; because when Irtra was formed, on the commercial side there was the General Association of Merchants, but today it no longer exists, and that is why it was divided between the Chamber of Commerce of Guatemala and the Association, but today that last representation is free.
Furthermore, when the General Association of Farmers (AGA) was formed, it was the representative of the agricultural sector, but since the Chamber of Agriculture was created, they lost representation, and the Association no longer has affiliated companies. There are regarding four or five people who manage that, but nothing more; They do not have representation, but they have a seat on the board of directors. So, we must ask them, with all due respect, to leave.
Of those two seats, we are thinking of moving one to the Chamber of Commerce, and another to the Chamber of Finance, which is a very strong sector that contributes a lot, but does not have representation.
Then, there remains the chair of the workers and the representative of the Executive, which with them makes eight members. I want to clarify that they said that, with this law, the representation of workers was removed, but that is a lie.
So, is it a replacement of board members?
It’s an ordering, really. The other articles are much simpler. We do not change anything or any principle of the institution, and we simply sort out what is bothering us, which is not being able to buy quickly or have a well-integrated board of directors.
Towards the future
Irtra already has several plans for the future, since with the growth of the population the business community will increase, as well as greater demand from users, which is why growth in infrastructure is needed:
- The Agua Caliente park is under complete remodeling and will be ready in two years.
- The Xocomil park in Retalhuleu is being expanded, and new land was acquired to do so.
- New state-of-the-art slides were purchased for Xocomil.
- Also a new park in Retalhuleu.
- A convention center that has the conditions to serve 15 thousand people in that department.
- Improve access roads for people to go to the parks.
- The construction of a new international airport, for which the design is already available.
In summary
These are some of the aspects that the president of Irtra, Ricardo Castillo Sinibaldi, highlighted regarding the reforms to the Law:
- The reform initiative was presented on November 28, 2023, and what was proposed has been explained to all parties in Congress.
- 62% of the total visitors who come to the parks are card-holders and their families.
- In hotels, 84% of those who stay are members.
- School visits (6%) and paying visitors (7%) enter the parks.
- 15 thousand indirect jobs have been created.
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