Out of the Mouths of Babes: State Auditors find Milk Fraud

(Chilpancingo, El Sur 14 March) According to state auditors, in 2009 the State Department of Family Services (called “DIF” for its Spanish initials) paid for 12.6 metric tons of powdered milk that never was delivered. “Phantom acquisitions” is a favorite form of government corruption. The milk, in various flavors, was destined for the hot breakfast program in the schools. The state government paid $4.05 million pesos for the milk, but it did not arrive. Curiously, no one in the government took any action with respect to the payment for undelivered milk. In another case, the auditors noted that the state government split up a procurement into parts so as to make each one be below the threshold for competitive bidding. This was a school back pack program, presumably “wired” to favored suppliers in exchange for kickbacks. A number of other irregularities were also detected in the audit.