Comptroller’s report exhibits irregularities in municipalities for more than Q30 million

Anomalies in construction licenses, embezzlement, missing cash, improper charges, irregular use of public resources and opaque contracts were detected by the Comptroller General of Accounts (CGC) in several municipalities, according to the Audit and Liquidation Report of the General Budget of Revenue and Expenditures of State 2024, delivered last week to Congress.

Denunciations against mayors, former mayors, councilors and financial directors for facts that in some cases date from 2005 were filed for these findings. The total amount questioned in the audits exceeds Q30 million.

The list of the Municipality of Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez. The commune received Q17.9 million for a license, but then returned Q8 million to the developer, which delivered 12 Picops, three trucks, 38 motorcycles, two light vehicles and a truck. The current Mayor Juan Manuel Asturias and the Council were denounced for resolutions contrary to the law.

Another case, in San Raymundo, Guatemala, investment funds for operating expenses and payrolls were used in 2019. The complaint amounts to Q5.1 million and from the findings, former mayor Fernando Antonio Ortiz and the Director of Integrated Municipal Integrated Financial Administration of the period in question were denounced.

In San Miguel Panán, Suchitepéquez, a missing cash and improper checks were detected. The audit findings indicate that there were 261 transactions to a single person and the amount amounts to Q4 million, so a complaint was filed against the Municipal Corporation of the 2019-2023 period.

In La Blanca, San Marcos, it was found by the Comptroller’s Office that a water treatment plant designed in 2016 remains abandoned since 2019. The audit covers from November 2018 to July 2022 and the former mayor Aruoldo Alfredo Alfredo Cordero Monroy (2020-2024) was denounced for not executing conservation bonds or presenting valid discharges. The amount of the complaint is for Q3.4 million.

In San Gabriel, Suchitepéquez, the purchase of goods was simulated through 338 transactions in the name of third parties by a total of Q3.1 million, this in the year 2022. The National Public Investment System (SNIP) lacked records, the inventory book was deficient and the staff had not bonded, therefore the complaint was filed of the budget and accounting of the commune.

In Pueblo Nuevo, Suchitepéquez, it was found that two loans that added Q950 thousand and were acquired between 2008 and 2009, were used for current spending, when they were forced to direct them to investment. Due to the misuse of resources, the former mayor Fernando González Kunze and two financial demanders were denounced.

While in Ocós, San Marcos, a road project was awarded when the works were already ongoing without opening plants or presentation of offers. The former mayor Álvaro Guillermo López Rabanales was denounced, the Board of Board of Board for an amount of Q1.9 million.

In San Francisco Zapotitlán, Suchitepéquez, the improper use of resources and lack of income transfer in 2022 was detected. Nine findings were denounced by Q1.5 million. The complaint is against former mayor Carlos René Chávez Kestler and his council.

In Santa Ana Huista, Huehuetenango, the municipal treasury was denounced for Q1 million due to anomalies in the construction of a football court initiated in 2005. The file lacks physical progress reports, despite having issued three contracts and multiple payments to two construction companies. For this fact, former mayors and members of their respective municipal corporations were denounced from 2005 to 2022, since responsibility was established by not verifying that said work lacks the corresponding documentation on its construction.

The Comptroller General, Frank Bode Fuentes, indicated that these findings were possible thanks to the strengthening of controls through technological tools such as the electronic log, which allows to verify in the field the physical progress of the works.

No response to the accusations

On the complaints and findings reported by the Comptroller, the official version of several of the municipalities reported was requested. In the case of Antigua Guatemala, Mayor Juan Manuel Asturias was not obtained, despite the repeated communication attempts at his personal phone and the communion office of the commune, in which it was also reported that the spokesman was not.

In the municipality of Ocós, San Marcos, it was indicated that there was no person authorized to pronounce on the subject. The same response was received in the municipalities of La Blanca, San Marcos; San Raymundo, Guatemala, and San Francisco Zapotitlán, Suchitepéquez.

Complaints must be more frequent

On the complaints that were filed by the Comptroller against these municipalities, some experts believe that they must be more frequent, with the aim of promoting transparency and accountability.

For Manfredo Marroquín, director of Citizen Action, which the Comptroller has filed criminal complaints is a good symptom; However, sanctions should be more frequent “because corruption at the level of municipalities is galloping, and it is throughout the country.”

According to Marroquín, corruption in municipal administration has been seen as a common practice, but audits can help reduce this problem.

It coincided with Oscar Morales criteria, an independent analyst on inspection issues, which expects the Comptroller’s work through audits to force the Public Administration to be more transparent; while all the institutions involved in the process must also follow up on the findings.

“We should all be interested in the fight against corruption. We must all be interested in the processes that are in these circumstances in the Public Ministry, and that the judges have appropriate, legal and transparent jurisdictional control. We are interested in giving us results,” Morales said.