To assist pensioners in critical condition, PAMI is promoting a plan whereby there is a monthly delivery of a bag of nonperishable food and credits in their member’s salaries a fixed sum for the purchase of fresh produce.

The problem is that, according to a report from the General Audit Office (AGN, for its acronym in Spanish), that the amount has not been updated since 2007, which is 15 pesos, a sum with which the elderly must use to purchase cheeses, meats and eggs.

This led the Watchdog to conclude that, in the passage of nutritional assistance "cover food caloric requirement was decreasing between 1999 and 2012 by 32.3%."

Well-being

The initiative in question is called Project for the Well-being and carried forward since 1992 by PAMI (officially called the National Institute of Social Services for Retirees and Pensioners -INSSJyP-).

While in principle the plan had different objectives, such as organizing recreational activities and building halls in the centers, in recent years the management is focused almost exclusively on food aid.

In that sense, and according to data provided by PAMI, until 2011 this assistance reached 11% of the members of the health care, i.e. 477,182 pensioners on a total of nearly 4.5 million people.

The beneficiaries are treated in 2,712 Pensioners Centers operating under the orbit of 37 Local Management

Units (LGUs) that PAMI has throughout the country.

The budget, in 2011 had funds for $ 562,185,367.73, which were destined almost entirely (97%) of the implementation of Food Benefit Supplement (BCA).

This provision was Pro-Welfare which the Audit reviewed and after an 18-month investigation -carried out between January 2011 and mid-2012- published a report on July of this year.

Among other things, the paper argues that, despite the precise data, "they do not have data for the members who meet the requirements to receive food benefits" and also no nutritional monitoring of individuals is made, so "it is not possible to know or measure the impact of the actions performed by the program on the target population."
 

Regulations, Procedures and Observations

The AGN explains that, under current regulations, the Food Supplement Benefit (BCA) is executed by two methods. On the one side is the aforementioned bag which contains a set of products selected by nutritionists these are monthly and free to the beneficiaries at the Centers for Pensioners.

The report adds that, until 2007, pockets included non-perishable and fresh food, but since then PAMI ordered the accreditation of those $15 monthly pesos intended for meats, cheeses and eggs pesos.

Returning to the bags (containing oil, rice, tuna, peas, sugar, jam, pasta, flour, lentils, powdered milk, tea and yerba) costs vary by region; so for example until July 2012 the monthly package for a beneficiary of Tierra del Fuego was worth $ 107, in the Patagonian area $ 95, while in the rest of the country the amount was $ 86.

The Audit says the bags are made for two, three or more people, and there are two special packages; one with different foods based on the conditions of the beneficiaries, and the other in momentous dates, such as Christmas.

Almost as an anecdote, the report chart that each armed bag weighs about eight kilos, "making it difficult to carry," and says "the bags in which the products are delivered are polyethylene, easy to break without handles."

The other kind, meanwhile, is the dining / snack, a special menu for seniors developed by nutritionists. It is generally held from Monday to Friday, the day plus a "small bag" food for the weekend.

With regard to how the products are bought up the BCA, the regulations indicates that the Centers for Pensioners (CJyP) "have an obligation for periodic price with minimal presentation of two bidders on a quarterly basis" which go to wholesalers or retailers.

However, the AGN (which visited several CJyP See separate), highlighted the "lack of collating price and / or conformation of price control, (which is an index) prepared monthly for each product at all Local Management Units , considering that in any case the cost of food exceeds the value aisle."

Even regarding this witness price system, the auditors noted that the methodology used for its formation "does not take into account the geographical location."

The Visit to the Centers

Moreover, after visiting several centers, technicians found that "the individual records of beneficiaries are not complete with the necessary data regarding the nutritional evaluation upon admission to the program" information that is key to the monitoring the initiative.

Several "flaws" were also observed, as some centers do not exhibit CJyP municipal authorization and have building deficiencies, such as humidity, lack of paint, no ramps for the disabled and emergency signaling."
The report adds that some facilities "do not have an exclusive bank account for the program," and the supplier invoices are not properly controlled when delivering the bags.

Internal Control

Under the food aid program exists an Audit Unit (PMU), which planned for 2011 to audit 535 centers. However, the AGN noted that only 36% of that objective was met, because the CJyP analyzed during that year were 194.

Similarly, 48% of those audited centers were "bad" or "regular" by the UAP’s own review; in 22% of cases controls could not be carried out, while the remaining 30% was rated as "good".

Since 2012 the PMU has a less ambitious target, aiming to control 192 CJyP. But to no avail: finally 97 sites were audited, with 51.5% of "bad" or "fair" rating, and 42.2% of "good" results.

With this data, the General Audit Office concluded that the controls with negative results increased 7.4% between 2011 and 2012, so "courses of action adopted at the follow-up of deviations were not identified by the PMU. They would not be reaching.