Actual income and expenses do not match the approved budget, US notes in El Salvador

The United States Department of State released its 2021 Financial Transparency Report today, which assesses whether countries will meet their financial transparency requirements and the progress they have made each year, but in the case of El Salvador it indicates that “significant progress” will be made by 2020.

One of the issues highlighted by the country’s assessment is that “although the budget has been substantially completed, the actual income and expenditure have not been reasonably matched with the approved budget.”

It also noted in the legislature that “there is concern that the government has not provided complete information on Govt-19 spending.”

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According to the US report, information on the government’s budget and debt obligations during the review period was “easily accessible to the public, even online”, but indicated that there were limits to the Accounts Court overseeing the budget.

“The Supreme Audit Agency reviewed a portion of the government’s accounts, but did not have the capacity to audit the annual budget passed and did not have the authority to carry out its functions,” the State Department said in a statement.

El Salvador appears in the category of “no significant progress” in a table with a list of governments rated for non-compliance with the minimum requirements for financial transparency.

After evaluation, the report makes three recommendations:

• Ensure that the approved budget is reasonably consistent with actual income and expenses;
• Publish audits that include the implemented full-year budget;
• Giving auditors legal and administrative authority over the operation of their activities.

Regarding the process of allocating licenses and contracts for the extraction of natural resources, the document indicates that it is outlined in law and that the procedure is being followed and the information is available to the public.

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Other U.S. This report describes the minimum financial transparency requirements developed, updated and strengthened by the State Department in consultation with the federal agencies and evaluates those that do not meet the minimum financial transparency requirements and whether those governments have made significant progress. During the review period from January 1 to December 31, 2020.

According to the State Department, the Central American countries that meet the minimum requirements for financial transparency are: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.

The rest will appear on the list of Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.