Saturday 08 November
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Eliminating Slums Is
Only But A Dream Of The
Arias Administration
Women Recognize Their
Attackers In Line Up
Tibás Potholes
Will Be Around For Some Time
Orotina With
Partial Closures
Aguinaldo
To Hit The Streets On December 8
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Eliminating Slums Is
Only But A Dream Of The
Arias Administration
When Oscar Arias took
the presidency in 2006,
he promised to cut the
number of 'tugurios'
(slums) by half, that is
that is eliminating an
estimated 10.000 of the
estimated 20.000 slums
in the country, during
his term in office.
However, according to a
report by the
Contraloría General de
la República (CGR) -
Comptroller's office -
the efforts of the
government are now way
near the goal set at the
beginning of the
administration.
The report says that the
Ministerio de Vivienda y
Asentamientos Humanos (Mivah)
and the Banco
Hipotecario de la
Vivienda (Banhvi), the
two government
institutions related
with the task of helping
eradicate slums are so
inefficient and show
important weaknesses in
their roles that is
impossible to verify if
they are investing funds
efficiently.
According to the CGR,
the Mivah has failed to
define priorities and
show lack of planning.
The CGR comments
coincide with the latest
Informe de Estado de la
Nación (report on the
state of the nation)
that shows of the 11.442
"bonos" were handed out
last year, only 182 went
towards the eradication
of slums, to an amount
equivalent of ¢933
millon colones or 5.5%
of Mivah resources.
The CGR report heavily
criticized the work of
Mivah, saying that no
evidence was found that
the institution had many
any effort to define
slums and give them
priority, nor was there
a list of priorities of
which areas needed
attention.
The CGR also criticized
the Ministerio de
Vivienda for not
implementing the
recommendations by the
Colegio Federado de
Ingenieros y de
Arquitectos (College of
Engineers and Arquitects)
and that there is no
evidence that the Banhvi
has proper control of
funds transferred to the
"Entidades Autorizadas"
(authorized entities) to
finance construction and
infrastructure geared
towards eliminating slum
housing. |
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