The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued an adverse opinion on the administrative operations of the Pa' Mi Gente Program of the Department of Labor and Human Resources. The tests performed and the evidence revealed that the operations in the administration and management of the Program were not carried out, in all significant respects, in accordance with the applicable law and regulations.
The Report reveals that 151 Program participants did not operate the kiosks assigned to them between 2012 and 2016. In addition, some 23 participants who had met the requirements had to wait more than four years to receive their kiosk. The delay in delivering the kiosks was due to the fact that the secretary who took office in 2013 decided to change the name of the Program and ordered the kiosks to be painted to remove the previous logo.
The one-finding audit also notes that the Department did not remove the kiosks from 67 participants who did not meet the Program's requirements, did not have an insurance policy to protect those under its custody, and in 48% of the files there was no evidence of contract renewals even though they had been expired for more than 3 years.
The examination conducted also found that in the files there was no evidence of the registration and remittance of the contracts granted to the participants in the Contract Registry of the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico. Nor were they included in the Department's Contract Registry.
The auditors identified multiple deficiencies in the files of the participants who operated their businesses. For example, they lacked evidence of insurance policies, Fire Department endorsements, and evidence of payment of the municipal license tax.
These situations contrary to the applicable laws and regulations caused the Department to fail to comply with the Program's objectives and to be left unprotected against any claim for damages and/or in the event that the participant fails to meet the requirements. In addition, failing to keep a faithful record of the contracts prevents adequate control of the Program.
The Program had the objectives of promoting self-management, business development, creating direct jobs and increasing economic activity, among others. Of the 387 kiosks acquired for $2.7 million between 2012 and 2013, the Department had assigned 244, kept 109 under its custody, and the remaining 34 under the custody of one of the manufacturers.
This third and final report of the Department of Labor and Human Resources covers the period from January 1, 2014 to May 31, 2018.
See Audit Report DA-20-08.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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