Deputy denounces three confidential government funds that are not accountable
Márquez pointed out that Libre, in the opposition, questioned the existence of item 449, arguing that it should not exist in a transparent budget.
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Deputy Nelson Márquez, deputy leader of the Nationalist bench, denounced this Monday through the morning TN5 Newscast, the lack of accountability on the part of the Government regarding confidential funds, which in recent years have exceeded 42 billion lempiras.
The congressman said that no clear information has been provided on the destination of these funds, which has generated a strong political debate and said that they changed the name to “Undesignated” but that it is the same confidential item.
Márquez said that in 2021, the National Party government was criticized for allocating 2.3 billion lempiras to that item, which became a central argument of Libre’s campaign.
He added that “the surprise came when Libre took power,” since in the reformulation of the 2022 budget, the allocation of the confidential item was increased from 3 billion to 15 billion lempiras.
Márquez said that when Libre was in the opposition, it questioned the existence of this item, known as item 449, arguing that it should not exist in a transparent budget.
In 2023, the item called “No designation” known as the confidential item was L.17 billion and in 2024, L.10 billion, which added to the L.5 billion in 2022, results in a total of 42 billion in the current government.
Márquez also rejected the current allocation of funds, since for him “it would be a third confidential allocation that is supposedly for security and that will be managed by the current Secretary of Defense and presidential candidate of Libre, Rixi Moncada,” he explained.
According to the opposition deputy, this use of confidentiality and the direct purchasing process in the Ministry of Defense hinders transparency in public management.
Confidential records do not exist, says Ramón Barrios
Despite these complaints, Libre deputy Ramón Barrios defended the existence of confidential funds, since they are not confidential because every cent invested is audited by the Superior Court of Accounts (TSC), since their use is in the public interest.
He also indicated that the confidential items were eliminated in 2022 and that these funds are public knowledge for the Honduran population.
Márquez also questioned the very poor execution of the budget, since, in 2024, public execution barely reaches 31%, which raises serious doubts about the management and destination of the allocated funds, he concluded.
