Helicopters rented at double going rate among dozens of PAN irregularities

DOZENS of irregularities have been discovered in the spending of $.1.2 billion in four years, by the previous director of The  National Assistance Program (PAN) from renting helicopters at $3000 an hour, double the normal rate, to issuing questionable contracts to companies with links to the former CD party rulers..

Rafael Stanziola, the new director, made the announcement on Thursday, September 4,, and produced a long  litany of irregularities for which he denounced the previous administration of the program, which spent $1.2 billion between 2010 and 2014 He also said that contracts were discovered with companies that were not authorized to do business with the state, and that goods were delivered to people without proper identification. He said the irregularities will be clearer once audits of the program are complete.
A large amount of money from the program was spent on garbage collection through the waste agency AAUD, administered by Enrique Ho.
A report by Stanziola said the entity issued a number of questionable contracts to companies with close ties to the ruling CD. The document also discusses certain practices that “violated the good management of public funds.” This included disbursing up to 40 percent of the amounts as “down payments.” “This practice degenerated into many of the companies financing their operations with advances they received,” the document says.
It also highlighted the lack of controls over equipment owned by the agency, which was stored in facilities not controlled by the entity reports La Prensa.