Aid from Cláudio Castro benefited even the dead, says TCE – 03/29/2023 – Power

Audit by the TCE-RJ (Court of Audit of the State of Rio de Janeiro) pointed out irregularities in the main income transfer program of the Cláudio Castro (PL) administration. There are indications of benefits on behalf of civil servants, dead people, prisoners and even aircraft owners.

Supera RJ, created to support low-income families, consumed R$557 million in the last two years. According to the audit, the expenditures were made without planning and with serious failures in control.

In summary, the Court of Auditors states that the program issued cards in excess, did not control their delivery to the actual beneficiaries and opened loopholes for diversion, theft and misuse by people who did not fit the membership criteria.

Most of the expenses occurred during the election year and is contemporary with the case of the “secret payroll” of Ceperj (State Research and Statistics Center of Rio de Janeiro), which generated an electoral investigation action with a request for the annulment of the mandate of Castro.

The Public Ministry also identified irregular payments to civil servants and prisoners in the episode.

Like Ceperj’s “secret sheet”, Supera RJ relied on resources obtained from the concession of basic sanitation services in the state.

In a note, the government stated that the program “continues to be constantly reformulated so that there is no divergence in its purpose, in view of the size and scope of the program”. He also declared that he had made clarifications to the TCE-RJ and that he supports the inspection actions.

Supera RJ was launched in May 2021 to distribute up to R$460 to low-income families. According to the government, more than 477,000 families benefited from a total expenditure of R$560 million. It will be in effect until the end of this year.

The TCE audit analyzed expenses from March 2021 to March 2022, which totaled BRL 285.7 million in expenses with emergency aid.

“The audit team found that the initiative to grant emergency aid did not have a defined objective, nor established goals, nor indicators that would allow its measurement and control, which indicates that there was, at no time, adequate planning and effectiveness of the implemented public policy”, affirms the decision approved in December in the court.

The auditors identified a situation of lack of control over card generation. Many were made without the beneficiary having asked.

The issuing of cards without the beneficiaries’ knowledge took place, according to the government’s information to the court, based on the federal government’s Single Registry, which lists families in poverty. However, the audit pointed out that Supera RJ did not use the same data to contact this group of potential beneficiaries of the program.

The court also identified the possibility that third parties had misused cards issued in the name of other persons.

According to the audit, a sample of vouchers for withdrawing the benefit showed inconsistencies such as the absence of a signature or the full name of the person responsible for withdrawing it, enrollment or the name of the employee who released the card, among others.

TCE-RJ technicians also identified a complete lack of control over card storage. For them, failures increased “the risk of criminal or fraudulent actions”.

There were also cases of card thefts in lockers without any security reinforcement.

In addition to the lack of control over the use of benefits, the audit identified the registration of people who did not fit the Supera RJ criteria.

The list found 485 public agents, 185 prisoners in a closed regime and 32 people with death records.

Also among the beneficiaries are 2,793 owners of vehicles manufactured after 2009, with 141 owners of more than two vehicles, 186 owners of boats (18 of which were acquired for more than R$30,000) and one owner of an aircraft.

The audit also pointed out possible failures in granting credit to small companies. Relatives of civil servants were identified among the partners of the benefited firms. However, the state pointed out flaws in this survey and the TCE-RJ suspended, on Wednesday (22), the determinations on the subject until the data are checked.

Program is ‘constant reformulation’, says state government

The Government of Rio de Janeiro declared, in a note, that Supera RJ “continues to be constantly reformulated so that there is no divergence in its purpose, in view of the size and scope of the program”.

“In fact, with the creation of the SuperaRJ Caravan, it has been possible, in partnership with city halls, to expand the delivery of cards”, says Palácio Guanabara.

He also declared that he had made clarifications to the TCE-RJ and that he supports the inspection actions.

“In relation to the questions of the State Court of Auditors, all clarifications were promptly answered and delivered to the body. The State Government supports the actions of the State Court of Auditors as a supervisory body and will always follow together in the search for solutions so that any disputes are resolved in accordance with the law, for the benefit of the population, and without prejudice to public coffers.”