Chihuahua.— The State’s superior auditor, Héctor Alberto Acosta Félix, revealed that of the 750 administrative complaints that have been sent to the Internal Control Bodies (OIC) of the public entities and decentralized organizations that they have audited, they have not yet received a response from the results of said investigations, and, where appropriate, the sanctions imposed.
The head of the Superior State Audit Office (ASE), stressed that they send a “very large” number of complaints for irregular management of public resources, derived from the audit work carried out by the personnel under their charge, however the results “are few ” and in the worst case scenario, these are archived in the dependencies.
Acosta Félix recognized that there are areas of opportunity that can be improved in monitoring the correct application of public resources. “Where we still have areas of opportunity is in complaints of an administrative nature, because we send a very large amount,” he pointed out.
“We have sent close to 750 administrative complaints to Internal Control Bodies, and we still do not have the results of their investigations and, in their case, their sanctions. In a large number of complaints that are filed by the internal control bodies, ”he said.
He added that in terms of serious offenses, referred to the State Court of Administrative Justice (TEJA), there is timely attention because they attend to them in a timely manner, but the criteria that the magistrates in the TEJA are still using are very restrictive and formalistic.
“They have not allowed us to penalize the number of public servants who, in our opinion, should be penalized for the irregular management of public resources,” he pointed out.
When asked about the number of public servants who have been sanctioned by TEJA, he replied:
“We have nine sanctioning resolutions in the TEJA case, we are the only entity (ASE) that has managed to have sanctioning resolutions, at least to the extent that public information has been consulted on the latest updates from the court itself.
“In other words, no internal control body or the State Public Service Secretariat has achieved a punitive sentence more than the ASE, but even so we are dissatisfied because the percentage is much lower in relation to the complaints that have been filed and the resolutions that have been issued,” he reiterated.
When expressly asked how to improve the performance of the internal control bodies of public entities and audited decentralized bodies, so that it is the public resource best used for the benefit of the population, he explained: “For example, the Public Account 2019, 2020 and 2021 we have a 40 percent decrease in recurring observations in municipalities.
“This means that municipalities are beginning to pay more attention to the application of the rules that regulate the exercise of spending, and they have also begun to realize that audits have consequences and are paying more attention to compliance with legal provisions.”
He mentioned that the audits for the year 2021 have already been completed, where there is a new control system.
The only stage where the observation can be resolved is in the audit process itself, at this time, he said, “we are only complying with the actions that were dictated in each of the audits.”
“Among the actions we talk about promotions of administrative responsibility for serious misconduct, others not serious and we are complying with those actions that we dictate regarding the Public Account 2021. We have sent to the OICs 50 percent of the administrative complaints that they correspond to non-serious offenses and that it will be up to the OIC to vent, he mentioned.
Héctor Acosta Félix stated that his term as auditor is still valid, “I was appointed in 2018 and my term as head of the Superior State Audit expires at the end of 2025,” he concluded.
