Auditors to vet lawmaker contracts

A TEAM  of auditors from the office of Panama’s Comptroller General will move to the National Assembly on Monday, April 2 to begin audit work on form 080, which contains the contracts of staff hired by the country’s lawmakers.

Spending for each of the 71 deputies has rocketed from $4.000  to $30,000  a month since 2015.

“This is not a matter of checking  a working person’s salary  but making  sure that all people who are charging are providing  a service to the State, since  if they charge and do not work, the so-called botella [fake job] is a patrimonial injury, and not only the person who receives the check, but whoever issues it, is punishable”said Humbert.

The comptroller said that he had a meeting with the president of the Assembly, Yanibel Ábrego,. “I told her how we were going to do the audit and to prepare the space,”.

Humbert said that you have to make sure “that people who receive a check from the State not only in the Assembly but in any other institution, are providing a service, or it is a patrimonial injury and must be punishable “.

In a letter sent by Humbert to Ábrego, that he would perform the audit of item 080 because “we found that in many cases the necessary controls are not available to confirm the provision of the services contracted under “other professional services.”

Item 080 is part of the operating budget of the National Assembly, which the deputies use to hire staff.

In 2015, this item increased from $4,000 to $30,000  thousand per month for each deputy. The Ministry of Finance approved, $5.8 million for this line in 2018  after the Legislative had requested $27.2 million.

Deputies of the different groups that make up the plenary session of the National Assembly  had differing views on the audit reports La Prensa

The Independent deputy Ana Matilde Gómez described Humbert’s  decision  as “excellent.”

“I would like the comptroller to come and ask: ‘So-and-so, let’s see, who you are. What work

Do you do? Where does it sit? What does it develop?’ “she said.

“In my opinion, this is the correct way to determine, once and for all, whether or not there are ghost contracts, abuse or misuse of money. said Gomez.”

Other deputies, like  Fernando Carrillo, of Cambio Democrático (CD), consider that, although the law allows the comptroller to initiate an audit, everything that happens at this time, when the relations of the Executive and Legislative are not good, could be considered as a free pass.

PRD  Deputy Elias Castillo said, the comptroller was able to do this audit before and not when a legislative term is ending prior to an electoral process and, just when there is an uncomfortable situation in the Executive and Legislative relationship.

The second vice-president of the Assembly, Panameñista Gabriel Soto, said that if the investigation finds “a situation”, with a deputy it is “the duty of the Comptroller to bring it to light.”

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