After analyzing the execution of housing plans in the province of Jujuy, the General Audit Office (AGN) noted a number of irregularities ranging from the lack of information on what the cooperatives who build houses and who will be the beneficiaries, to works that do not advance funds and do not surrender, despite millions in transfers from the national state to several municipalities in northwestern Argentina.

Operative

The AGN explains that housing initiatives in Jujuy consisted of the money order from the Under secretariat of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Provincial Housing Institute, which later signed agreements with various municipalities. These communes, in turn, agreed to the execution of works with several co-workers.

Regarding the management of funds, municipalities should be held before the Court of Auditors from Jujuy expenses, while the Institute was required to conduct monthly tests to technically certify the progress of construction.

For its report, the AGN discussed various initiatives such as the Federal Program of Socio-Community Integration (see the end), the aforementioned agreements between the Institute of Housing and municipalities, and the Best Living Program II, which became a financial analysis of the period between 30 November and 10 December last year.

Better Live II

The auditors examined six agreements for the improvement of 1000 houses was projected in two municipalities. For example, in San Salvador, the provincial capital, the idea was to work on 500 houses totaling 64 million pesos.

While in the municipalities of San Pedro, Perico, Monterrico, Palpalá and El Carmen, works in 125 homes were planned and 16 million pesos each.

This means that the selected sample covered by the AGN one thousand works to be implemented in six municipalities of Jujuy, within six months and funded for 128 million pesos.

The expected amounts, until December 10, 2015 San Salvador had received $ 14,673,150.70; and the rest, except Perico, arrived about $ 3,668,287.70, to form a total of just over 29 million pesos.

The Facts

Always about the program Better Living, the report says that on December 14 a brand new official Institute of Housing (see Special Report) asked the mayors of El Carmen, Monterrico and San Pedro documentation relating to the beneficiaries of the works. However, "no documentation was obtained referred to the identification of the social organizations that executed the work, or the technical manager, or the final beneficiaries, nor the precise geographical location of the works."

A short time later, on January 18, the Housing Institute performed its audit on these ventures. At that timeit was the Secretary of Public Works of San Pedro who said that "having recently assumed his position, he was not yet aware of the situation," referring to improvements of houses in the village. It was why he needed to ask for collaboration to a "master builder who works with him." To complete the picture, the latter "reported that not aware of that agreement both on Cooperatives in charge of the works as the conventions, the list of beneficiaries and much less of the technical documentation. Further states that the Agreement was signed and managed directly by the outgoing municipal mayor ", tells the AGN.

That same day, the municipal accountant San Pedro provided details on the more than 3.6 million pesos received so far by the town. He said the money was turned to cooperatives June 4, 21 in May and January 14th. It was, in each case 24 checks (23 per 50,000 pesos and another for $ 22,335.98).

From this data, the audit concluded that "they were issued multiple checks (72 in total) for amounts up to $ 50,000, which support its encashment, without substantiating the reasons explaining this practice."

However, the action continued on January 18th. According to records analyzed by the AGN, the same day that Secretary of Public Works of San Pedro along with two officials of the Institute of Housing from Jujuy was the settlement on August 17 and "no observed progress of works at the site." Moreover, they added that "none of the neighbors were aware of being a beneficiary" of the improvements provided for in the agreements in question.

"Finally –completes the audit- accountabilities of the Institute were not found on the under secretariat of Housing of the Nation, or the provincial municipalities to the Court of Auditors as provided for in the agreements and signed agreements."

Agreements with the Cooperatives

Moreover, the inspection body analyzed three works made with Labor unions and El Quebracho El Obrador, and found that these entities "failed to open specific bank accounts" to receive funds drawn by the Institute of Housing from Jujuy.

In addition, it was learned that the technical representatives of cooperatives "do not meet the requirement of engineers and registered architects", and, if anything was missing, "there is also no evidence that the Housing Institute carried out technical and financial audits to verify the compliance with the agreements signed." So much so, that the provincial body even gave the AGN a list of funded works which consist precisely the amounts disbursed, the outstanding balance and physical and financial progress of each project.

The Institute Indoors

Beyond the work of cooperatives, the national monitoring body investigated the Housing Institute of Jujuy and found that the treasury entity "does not meet the conditions of minimum and essential security, such as fences, security cameras and access restriction to people outside the industry."

The AGN also recommends that the Institute "formalizes procedures to authorize and record income and expenditure of funds". In fact, two cases initiated by found "missing cash, a 1992 by 5000 pesos and another 1998 for $ 13,700, and in any of the two consists if the corresponding administrative investigation to determine responsibilities began" says the report.

For more logs being "in pencil annotations, current accounts could be observed without movement for years -at would recommend their closing-; in other cases, excess current accounts with checkbooks in proportion to the movements, leading to an unnecessary risk; and missing checkbook in another account opened at Banco Macro ". Finally, auditors stressed that "bank reconciliations are performed by the Treasury itself, which prevents control opposition."

Closure
Part of the work of the AGN is also dedicated to Federal Program Integration Socio-Community and, in that sense, the research shows that "the Provincial Executing Unit of this program did not provide the list of works in progress to identify the location, municipality, the Cooperative responsible as well as the total amount of the project and relevant physical and financial progress."
At press time, it was learned that the State Attorney of Jujuy, Mariano Miranda, denounced before the Federal Court to former Minister of Federal Planning, Julio De Vido, and four other former officials considering that were "necessary participation in fraud public administration," for authorizing transfers of state funds" omitting their control duties "under precisely Program Socio-economic Integration.
Special report
The findings of the AGN are part of a special report requested by the new administration of the province of Jujuy, which took office on last December 10th.
As happened in Mendoza, the control body drew up a picture of the situation of various State agencies of Jujuy such as the Institute of Housing, the Ministry of Finance, the company Agua de los Andes, and the Provincial Roads Department.