The Auditor.info last week published an article about the irregularities detected by the General Audit Office (AGN, for its acronym in Spanish) in the construction and delivery of social housing program Techo Digno. But the control office, in its report approved this year, made serious comments on the before mentioned. What happens once the properties are delivered?
From various interviews that the auditors had with officials of the Housing Institute of the Province of Buenos Aires and with municipalities de Florencio Varela, Jose C. Paz and Ezeiza, it appeared that "no kind of post-delivery control is in place". In fact, "it is unknown whether the awarded families are actually living in the households."
The survey conducted among the beneficiaries, found that "there are units that were sold, rented or occupied by families that were not originally beneficiaries."
It is important to note that "the beneficiary cannot perform any transactions with housing until three years after its delivery."
Techo Digno provides that "the beneficiaries of Federal Housing Program reintegrate the corresponding amount in 600 monthly installments, equal and consecutive to reinvest in new housing projects quotas. However, it was found that in four districts of José C. Paz and Ezeiza "had not implemented such system of recovery."
In the neighborhoods Sol de Oro II, René Favaloro and Maria Teresa of Calcuta it was found that the people "did not know if they had to pay or not for the house." In addition, "extension of the units without consultation or control of the municipality and overcrowded problems" were observed.
In the neighborhood Sol de Oro II, the AGN observed that "after five years the houses have great deterioration."
One reason that can explain many of these observations is that "municipalities are not planning to realize information activities on rights and obligations, home care, neighborhood and various activities of social integration."
Tucuman
The report of the National Audit also highlights the case of Tucumán where "from the 2098 homes awarded in Lomas del Tafi under the program,"31% had some type of irregularity," for example they were empty, uninhabited, had been borrowed, sold or swapped.
Administrative
The most important observation made by the AGN on administrative and payments issues happened in Ezeiza. The execution of 300 homes for which the district paid $ 1.5 million in advance to the progress certificate in March 2011. What was striking was that in April of that year, "the certificate was paid in full but without considering the amount already anticipated." As of April 2012 "the situation had not been regularized."
Both in Ezeiza and Jose C. Paz and Florencio Varela it was found that "the contractors did not issue invoices in advance immediately after the date, as set by tax rules." This situation had no objection from the executing agencies.
The 88% of the accountabilities of funds received by the Nation was performed "incomplete" way.
These shortcomings hold poor documentation, lack of reliability, incomplete and outdated records and the absence of staff with technical training" it adds.