The state agency will operate the registries through the LAC-Chain network, an initiative directed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The objective is to avoid corruption
The government procurement agency Peru Compras (Peru Purchases), published a statement on its website, www.perucompras.gob, reporting that it will use the blockchain technology to guarantee the transparency of the expenses it executes and also validate the contracts the State effects.
The intention is to preserve the authenticity of the certificates and securely store all the information of the parties involved in the process to guarantee the immutability of the information contemplated in the records.
In this way, the agency of the South American country will implement the “tokenization” of purchase orders within its registration system, in order to make a much more transparent management of those orders that will be processed through the platform; a database distributed in a network of computer servers.
Using blockchain technology will allow this agency to apply measures in the field of public procurement, which will follow local laws to fight against corruption.
The operations will be conducted through the LAC-Chain blockchain network, a decentralized project promoted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The idea is to promote the use of the blockchain technology among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
How Will the Process Be?
According to the article published by the government agency, Peru Compras will register digital purchase orders in a network of servers that will operate as nodes, which will be assigned to a QR code (rapid response code), in order to identify and access, from any smart phone, to the records stored in the blockchain platform. Each QR code will be associated with a PDF file.
When reading those codes, the original file will be displayed in PDF to verify the authenticity of the document in a secure manner, reducing any possibility of adulteration and allowing the parties involved to verify the accuracy of the document by comparing both copies.
About this initiative, Fernando Masumura, Head of Peru Purchases, explained: “If a supplier must deliver a good in a warehouse, he must carry with him the purchase order which has the details of the goods he should deliver. In this case, you can use a smartphone to verify the authenticity of the document through the QR code, which will take the original document and it will check if the items are correct. If there is any type of adulteration, it will be identified immediately”.
To make this possible, each purchase order registered in the blockchain platform will become a non-fungible digital asset, which will contain a URL of the document in PDF format, a HASH under the SHA256 standard (a “hashlink” that immunizes the saved offers in the database of Peru Purchases), information about the buyer, the number of the purchase order, information about the contracting entity, a summary of the agreement (items, quantity, term and place of delivery), and the corresponding registry in the network.
Public entities from different countries such as Pakistan, Canada, the United States, Colombia, Brazil,
Beyond the rise of cryptocurrencies in Peru, adopting blockchain technology makes it possible to explore the benefits it offers and find solutions for other fields of daily life, in an orderly, verifiable way, and avoiding information theft or cases of corruption in the management of public funds.
By María Victoria Rodríguez
