BRAZIL: Federal Prosecutor Investigates Drought Funding in Northeast

On January 4, 2013, Globo reported that federal prosecutor Kléber Martins will investigate the path of R$10 million sent to the state of Rio Grande do Norte in order to combat last year’s drought. The government of Rio Grande do Norte declared a state of emergency in April. As of October, 83% of municipalities in the state are still operating under drought conditions. Martins commented that the common way of distributing funds in lesser populated areas with smaller governments is to contract to local entrepreneurs, giving full discretion to local administrators. Federal oversight will be used to combat any illicit distribution of funds, especially towards projects lacking proper detail and foresight. Read Article