President Bukele said on April 7 that Anliker “would continue to bring his experience” to the Ministry, but did not reveal that he would continue as deputy minister, thus maintaining his jurisdiction.
Pau Anliker is still in government as Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, according to Volume 431 of the Official Gazette, after it was announced last week that he was stepping down as Minister.
The document shows agreement 105 in which the President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele, accepts Anliker’s resignation and later, in agreement 110, appoints him as deputy minister of this state portfolio. With this appointment, Bukele retains the jurisdiction of Anliker as an official.
I WILL SEE: They remove Pablo Anliker as Minister of Agriculture
The news that Anliker was no longer the head of this institution was made public on 7 April. That day Bukele made David Josué Martínez official as minister of the branch, but did not mention anything about Anliker. It was not until the night that Bukele confirmed that Anliker would remain at the institution, without giving further details.
David Martinez was appointed on April 7 as the new Minister of Agriculture following the departure of Anliker. Photo Courtesy: Press Secretariat of the Presidency
“Former Minister Anliker will continue to bring his experience in the Ministry, during the transition period,” Bukele posted on his tweet.
Anliker was at the helm of the institution which is currently being investigated by both the Attorney General’s Office and the Court of Auditors for irregularities in the purchasing process for the Health Emergency Program (PES) which delivers food packages to the population as part of the pandemic by Covid-19.
Among the main irregularities found in the audit carried out to date by the Court of Auditors are the purchase of overpriced cornmeal, the purchase of food products without health records and no consumption records of foreign companies in the who bought them the tickets.
In addition, Anliker, being minister of Agriculture, Refused to account for how much and how to use public funds that were allocated to him through the Emergency Fund, Recovery and Reconstruction (FERRE) when requested by the Citizens’ Monitoring and Monitoring Committee.
This accountability was to be given without reservation to the Supervisory Committee by all civil servants or institutions that used FERRE funds and within ten working days, in accordance with decree 674, published in the Official Gazette of 22 June 2020.
Complaints about Anliker also weigh on the Ethics Court for obstructing Court of Auditors audits since last year.
The change came just days after the United States spread the list of corrupt Central Americans, including several Salvadoran officials.
However with this appointment Anliker maintains immunity then Article 236 of the Constitution of the Republic protects him. This article states that the official will only be accountable to the Legislature for the official and common crimes he comments on, i.e., that justice cannot directly accuse him.
ALSO: Anliker’s legacy: millions of food imported to the detriment of domestic agriculture
In the same volume of the Official Gazette other changes are also added. Ana Lissette Cerén de Barrillas, deputy superintendent of banks, insurers and other financial institutions, submitted her resignation.
Evelyn Marisol was appointed to this position Thank you.
Also the resignation of Karina Guadalupe Burgos de Olivares like Assistant Superintendent of Pensions was accepted and Nelson Oswaldo Ramirez Jiménez was appointed in the position.