Water: CGU sees failure in the distribution of funds under Bolsonaro – 10/05/2023 – Power

A report by the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) found that, especially during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), funds for water access works did not reach the cities that need it most.

The document pointed out a series of flaws in the process of choosing municipalities and allocating money for water projects.

The audit concluded that there was a “widespread approval of proposals without minimum planning documents and without metrics and indicators to measure results”.

The contracts targeted by the CGU were signed between the then Ministry of Regional Development under the Bolsonaro administration —today the Integration portfolio— and the city halls, which were responsible for bidding and executing the other stages of the process. The money for these water projects was financed by parliamentary amendments or by resources from the department itself.

According to the CGU, some agreements with city halls were approved without a diagnosis of the current situation, such as the number of households without access to running water, total deficit in water demand, areas effectively affected in the last floods and minimum water supply during periods of drought.

“This step is crucial for correctly identifying the problem and enabling the most appropriate solution to be chosen,” states the report. “The absence of this information makes it impossible for the ministry to categorize the proposals received according to the real needs of the proponents [municípios].”

A Sheet has shown in the Drought Policy series of reports that parliamentary amendments and the allocation of federal agencies that take care of access to water have created abysses in the Brazilian semi-arid region, with entire regions abandoned by public policies.

To achieve a stable base in the National Congress, Bolsonaro handed over billions of reais from the Budget for the House and Senate leadership to use as amendments. This generated distortions and privileged electoral bases of deputies and senators more aligned with the government and the cardinals of the Legislature when distributing money for infrastructure works, investments and health financing.

In the audit, the CGU analyzed 29 contracts, which include dams, pipelines and reservoirs, especially in the North and Northeast regions. They total almost R$441 million and were signed between 2018 and 2022.

But only six agreements were for works in municipalities with a more critical water situation, which was a criterion established by the ministry itself. For this criterion, water security indices from ANA (National Water Agency) were used. The report does not detail which cities do or do not meet the requirements.

When contacted, the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development, the name given to the department in the Lula (PT) government, did not respond to questions made by the Sheet.

The ministry sent information to the CGU. According to the ministry, more detailed information, such as the water situation of the locations, was presented by the municipalities in the basic project. However, according to the Comptroller’s audit, this data in some cases was only analyzed after the Regional Development department approved the contract.

Regarding the selection of municipalities, the answers provided by Integração are limited to citing internal acts with criteria for choosing cities. In the auditors’ assessment, this only corroborated the evidence that the definition is not part of the tasks of the Department of Water Works and Support for Studies on Water Security of the Ministry of Integration.

The audit also showed that the majority of agreements signed with city halls are not moving forward. For the municipality to receive the money, it is necessary to advance in the process of carrying out the work or even hold a tender. In some cases, there was not even a company interested in competing.

In the opinion of CGU technicians, this is a reflection of the lack of studies carried out before signing contracts with the ministry, which can lead to outdated and delayed budgets. Meanwhile, the money from the federal coffers is stuck waiting for the municipality to be able to unlock the work.

The report considers that the Covid-19 pandemic may have influenced the delay in the execution of projects, but highlights that the 2021 and 2022 contracts remain 100% stopped.