Comptroller Begins Investigating IDA

THE Comptroller General’s Office responded positively to President Abel Pacheco’s request last week to investigate the Agriculture Development Institute (IDA) by closing down two of the institute’s offices.

During the Dec. 2 closure, three officials from the comptroller’s office reviewed documents and computer files at the IDA beneficiary selection offices in Moravia, northeast of San José. They took away some documents for further investigation, the daily La Nación reported.

The investigation began in response to a report published in the daily that IDA employees awarded at least 100 hectares of public land – intended for poor campesinos – to one another and their families (TT, Dec. 2, Nov. 25).

“This action… proves that complacency and passivity have not been the response to these complaints of bad practices in IDA,” Pacheco said in a statement, in reference to accusations that his administration has been slow to respond to the case. “The present administration is determined to get to the bottom of what happened.”

In addition, Pacheco announced Tuesday that a special commission has been formed to investigate IDA over the next 90 days with the goal of proposing new ways to regulate the institution and prevent future corruption.