government

Carnaval spending queried

Neither the Junta del Carnaval nor the Contraloría General de la República have been able to produce an audit of the $2.5 million in public funds that were spent on Carnaval this year.

Mingthoy Giro, chairman of Panama City's Carnaval committee, said that the details about how the funds were spent will be published on the government's web site. Additionally, the committee has posted a preliminary report of its expenditures on its own web site.

Yet, that list does not include a complete roster of the companies or individuals that received contracts. And some of the information is too general to allow for a detailed analysis of the spending.

Sources in the Contraloría General's office said that it is still waiting for a report from the committee on all the invoices and accounts from the event, which concluded Feb. 6.

"We do not know when it will be ready," the source said.

Bethania resident Leonora de Muñoz is upset that more information has not been made available.

"I do not know how they have spent the taxpayers money, because it has not published anything," she said.

The Panama City Carnaval Committee has been criticized for spending more money than its counterparts in the interior, yet drawing smaller crowds. It has also been criticized for moving the event to a residential area from a business district.