Watchdog group questions Honduras audit court's low effectiveness despite large budget

Honduras' Superior Court of Counts (TSC) faces criticism for its ineffectiveness, particularly its failure to deliver results despite a substantial budget. Juan Carlos Aguilar, director of Transparency at the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ), highlighted that the TSC manages over one billion lempiras annually but has only forwarded five illicit enrichment cases to the Public Ministry in the past four years.

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the country has the institutional framework, the legal framework, the officials and the necessary resources to combat corruption, but what is lacking is political will and adequate planning.

Aguilar asserted that Honduras possesses the necessary institutional framework, legal structures, personnel, and resources to combat corruption. However, he stressed that the critical missing elements are political will and adequate planning. The TSC's budget has reportedly doubled in recent years, yet this increase has not translated into improved auditing and oversight of public funds.

The ASJ representative detailed a decade-long institutional decline at the TSC, evidenced by a scarcity of audits, unclear criteria for fiscalizing public resources, and limited referrals of criminal, civil, and administrative responsibilities. This situation, he argued, weakens the national anti-corruption system. Furthermore, the recently approved National Anti-Corruption Strategy remains inoperative due to a lack of coordination among control institutions.

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The Superior Court of Counts has suffered institutional deterioration in the last decade, reflected in the scarce number of audits, the lack of clear criteria for fiscalizing public resources and the limited referral of criminal, civil and administrative responsibilities to the corresponding instances.

Aguilar also warned that Honduras continues to be ineligible for Millennium Challenge Corporation funds due to persistent weaknesses in transparency, public procurement, and institutional strengthening. He emphasized the need for improved control mechanisms, professionalization of public administration, and impartial law enforcement to regain international trust and secure non-reimbursable development funds. The primary obstacle, he concluded, remains the lack of political will.

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Honduras continues without access to funds from the Millennium Challenge Account due to weaknesses in transparency, public procurement and institutional strengthening.