Salta: Are Food Subsidies Really Given To The Poor?
<p style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">It is a question that arises from reading the report conducted by the Salta Audit. It explains that there is no evidence showing that social cards to buy food are delivered according to the economic situation of the applicants receiving the benefit. The watchdog also explains that if someone loses their card, the replacement takes about 6 months.</span></p> <div> </div>
The General Audit of Salta noted that the National Food Security Plan, implemented in Salta municipalities, "has no records that demonstrate that the award" of the benefit "was made based on the social-economic situation of those who have this right". This was detected by the body from the analysis of the beneficiaries’ records.
The system involves the use of magnetic cards enabled to purchase food at participating stores. In this context, the lack of accreditation of delivery parameters was detected in two of the three audited municipalities: Rosario de Lerma, where of the 20 thousand inhabitants, as of June 2010, 812 had food cards assigned (representing a 4% of the population) and Chicoana, with 8,500 residents, where, on the same date 586 cards were assigned (almost 7%).
The National Food Security Plan - "The most urgent hunger", is intended to finance actions to ensure the nutritional needs of people living in social vulnerability. In the case of Salta, the Federal Government pledged to transfer funds to the Province to be applied monthly, through the Social Card System and the Province, in turn, gave the program management and administration of the funds to the municipalities.
The report, approved this year on data for the period January to June 2010, said "it was unable to assess the impact of the program" because the provincial Ministry of Human Development "did not provide information on the proposed and achieved goals, nor the results of the social impact of the Plan."
Agreement between Macro Bank and the Province of Salta
To implement the system of Social Cards, it was stipulated that the Macro Bank would issue the Rechargeable Prepaid Card - Visa Vale Social, under Decree No. 4093/08. In this regard, the Provincial Auditor said that system "regulations issued in the Salta Procurement System in the recruitment process of the Banking entity, or in the selection of the supplier enterprise was not met."
In addition, they found that the replacement of the stolen cards, lost, or damaged, "took between 90 and 180 days," even though "the predetermined term is between 30 to 45 days," according to Decree No. 4093/08. The report also states that the agreement "does not set –the shop owners- the crediting period and availability of funds."
Finally, the watchdog said the province "did not implement a record or file of the procurement process", by providing the background for the recruitment of magnetic cards.