The president of Ibama says that the agency has a deficit of R $ 19 million and unpaid contracts for 3 months | Nature

The president of the agency says that he has pending payments in the order of R $ 19 million.

In a note, the Ministry of Economy reported that there is no blocking of budget allocations by the Ministry of the Environment, including Ibama and ICMBio. According to a survey by the NGO Contas Abertas, Ibama’s budget in 2020 is R $ 1.8 billion, and just over 70% of the amount has already been spent.

However, this amount takes into account all expenses, including fixed expenses, staff pay, and retired employees. In the case of the amount specifically earmarked for inspection and fire fighting, the total spent up to this Wednesday (21) does not exceed 50%.

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With the justification of the lack of available resources, Ibama determined, in a letter on Wednesday (21), that the forest fire brigades interrupt, starting at midnight this Thursday, the work throughout the country. In a second document, this Thursday, the agency speaks of “financial unavailability” to close the month of October.

The suspension of the agents’ work is determined at a time when both the Pantanal and the Amazon have record fires. The Pantanal biome faces a historic drought, contributing to the increase in fires.

In a note, Greenpeace Brazil said that the stoppage of the work of the brigadistas is “one more proof of the anti-environmental policy” adopted by the Bolsonaro government.

“Our claims for the financial replacement of Ibama have been working for months. The financial flow control has been reduced for months by the Department of the Treasury. “- Eduardo Bim, president of Ibama

“It is not something that is unknown, it is something of planning a spreadsheet, of a system, and that causes paralysis in the organ. I, as a manager, cannot spend money that I do not have, nor can I. In fact, we have a contract that has not been paid for three months, ”said the president of Ibama.

Eduardo Bim affirmed that there are no budgetary problems, what happens is the financial unavailability of resources. In other words, the agency is expected to receive the money already delivered, but the resource has not been released and is not available in the Ibama account.

The president cited, for example, a debt of R $ 5 million related to the operation of helicopters used in the Legal Amazon.

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