Housing Minister Resigns
Amid Controversy Over
Alleged Misuse of
Donated Funds
The ministro de Vivienda
(Housing Minister),
Fernando Zumbado, said
yesterday he would
resign his post
following the
controversy over
consulting fees paid
from monies donated by
the Government of
Taiwan, that were
supposed to have been
used to building housing
for the poor.
Zumbado, vowing to have
done nothing wrong, last
month took a leave of
absence to allow an
investigation into the
allegations.
On Monday, the
viceministra de Vivienda,
Ana Isabel García, told
an ethical committee
investigating the
alleged improper use of
us$1.5 million of the
us$2.5 million donation,
that Zumbado was totally
responsible for the
dispersement of the
funds that went to
private consultants.
In a letter to Costa
Rican president, Oscar
Arais, Zumbado said that
he will leave he post on
August 20, allowing time
for the results of the
findings of teh
Contraloría General de
la República
(Comptroller's office)
and the Comité de Ética
del Gobierno
(government's ethical
committee).
In the letter Zumbado
says that the social
programs of the current
administration cannot be
compromised by bad faith
and that he will not be
an accomplice of dark
forces. |
