The Peruvian government has decided to reform the Defense Ministry in 30 working days, Defense Minister Allan Wagner said on Thursday following a meeting with Peru's President Alan Garcia.

Wagner said that serious problems have been discovered in his ministry, including signs of corruption, duplications of functions and lack of an organic structure.

"A special commission of prominent people will be in charge of proposing reforms to the Defense Ministry for the next 30 working days," he said, adding that the ministry is troubled by corruption allegations related to hiring staff as well as purchasing both goods and services.

"The archives will be opened so that they can be investigated fully, and so the Interior Ministry can intervene," Wagner said, adding that he had also asked former chief of armed forces, Gen. Cesar Reynoso, to investigate irregularities in the construction of a highway in Cabana, in the northeast Ancash province.

"I want to send the population a clear message. Everything will be done transparently," he said.

He said he had also asked Genaro Matute, Peru's comptroller general, to give the ministry a special audit.

Wagner added that Peru would invest 650 million U.S. dollars in its armed forces over the next five years to "give the country the security that it needs."

Source: Xinhua