The President of the House of Representatives, Rafael “Tatito” Hernández Montañez revealed on Thursday that during the past four years no payment was made for water and electricity services so payment plans were established to avoid suspension.
“To be clear, the formal administration of the Legislative Assembly by our delegation began on Monday (January 11, 2021). Already we within the information that had transpired in the documentation provided by the transition documents we had identified debts of $ 2,897,492.20 in the Electricity Authority (EEA) and $ 829,412.90 in the Aqueducts and Sewerage Authority (AAA) more than a week ago. we coordinated with some contacts and some meetings were coordinated for Tuesday, “Hernández Montañez said in a press conference.
“Our concern was negative news that we started work in the Legislative Assembly and the water and electricity are cut off. That was not acceptable,” he added.
He explained that “the Electricity Authority notified us that no payments were actually issued in the last four years,” he noted.
He mentioned that in the current budget they do not have items to issue the payments corresponding to the EEA and the AAA so he asked them for a formal payment plan the ordinary payment from July onwards and the payment plan on the debt.
“Here it is obvious that in the administrative aspect there are some big flaws, there are some serious remarks in the documents themselves that emerge from the transition with the auditors who point out serious administrative incapacities, material remarks from the accounting point of view of administrative irregularity, so, the person in charge of our part was to sit with them, “he said.
Hernández Montañez said that product of the meetings, there were commitments not to suspend water and electricity services.
The current superintendent of the Capitol, César Hernández Alfonso, reported that they stopped paying marginal benefits to employees, such as retirement, medical plan and dental plan, as well as the Association of Employees of the Associated Free State (ELA) for $ 157,000. In addition, there is a $ 166,000 security service debt, as well as another $ 221,000 debt because last December the Capitol District’s insurance premiums were not paid.
According to Hernández Alfonso, the last administration left $ 220,000 and zero dollars per payroll.
We recommend:
For his part, the President of the Senate, José Luis Dalmau, reacted by saying: “It seems to me, true, that no action was taken here by the corresponding mechanisms. Here are some secretaries of administration, here are some auditors But while it is true that it was in breach of obligations, such as the payment of water and the payment of electricity, these agencies came to charge or came to cut off the light or the water at some point? Did they do any effective act to enforce? That needs to be asked as well. “
He explained that they have not yet completed the transition.