The new leadership of the Institute of Social Welfare (IPS), chaired by Isaías Fretes, exposed the low compliance with recommendations from the previous administration. According to the General Auditor of the Executive Branch, Alberto Cabrera, only 2.5% of the guidelines issued by the General Audit Office were implemented by the administration of Jorge Brítez. “Out of 100 recommendations, only two were fulfilled. With this, it is concluded that the IPS internal control system is very fragile and has failed,” Cabrera said.
Fretes was emphatic in criticizing his predecessor and promised to correct irregularities. “No one paid attention to this gentleman (Cabrera). Of all the recommendations, which had the obligation to straighten things out and provide transparency, 2% were fulfilled and no one took action. That will not happen in this administration,” he stated.
As part of the inspection offensive, Cabrera will lead a team of five professionals to review the management of the IPS’s approximately 800 properties. The goal is to verify the legal and documentary status of the properties, rental contracts, and maintenance costs relative to revenue generated. “We want to know how many are titled, how much they cost the IPS, and who is renting them, for how much, and to conduct a cost-benefit study,” he explained.
Simultaneously, the handling of medicines and medical supplies will be audited. Cabrera detailed that the oversight will cover everything from bidding and contracts to national distribution, checking whether the processes are “sufficiently documented with sufficient and competent evidence.” The inspections are expected to be completed by the end of August.
In the health area, manager Derlis León reported that the final list of formulary cuts will be defined next Wednesday. So far, 817 items of medicines and supplies are to be removed due to lack of use, but the number may increase. Fretes highlighted that the measure targets “the heart of corruption” and shifts purchasing leadership from the administrative area to the medical structure. “We have to close the leaking taps. Of the 4,000 items including supplies, 817 will be removed,” he said, estimating a reduction of about 20% in the formulary.