politics

Mivi materials in limbo

More than 100 families are waiting for building materials that were purchased by the Ministerio de Vivienda (Mivi) in 2007 but which are now under the control of a Partido Revolucionario de Democrático insider.

In July 2007, Mivi, under the direction of Balbina Herrera, purchased sheets of metal to be used to fix the storm-damaged roofs of people living on the islands of San Miguel, La Guinea, Pedro González, Saboga, Otoque and Casaya.

Mivi purchased the materials from Industrias Correagua for $63,000. Those materials never reached their intended destination. Instead, an investigation by La Prensa has tracked them to the estate of Tomás Gabriel “Fito” Altamirano Duque in Chepo, who is the father of PRD Legislator Tomás Altamirano Mantovani.

Authorities have said that Mivi has avoided claiming the building materials because they fear possible political reprisals on the part of Altamirano Duque, who served as the country's first vice-president under Ernesto Pérez Balladares. Duque was supposed to distribute the building materials, but he never did so. He was put in charge of this project even though Mivi has a large storage center in Chepo.

Civil servants and politicians linked to this purchase have kept silent on the issue. Instead, Herrera's successor, Gabriel Diez, has called for additional materials to be purchased. Asked about the materials being held on the Duque estate, he declined to comment.

“Nobody dares to tamper Duque in Chepo,” one Mivi official said. “He's got a lot of power in this government.” Duque and Herrera both declined to comment about the issue.