F. Nilandhoo Council President traveled to Sri Lanka after spending 68,000 Rufiyaa on procurement of spare parts required for the repair of a waste collection pickup

An audit report has revealed that the President of the F. Nilandhoo Council, Ali Ahmed, traveled to Sri Lanka to spend 68,000 Rufiyaa on spare parts required for the repair of a waste collection pickup.

The 2023 compliance audit report for the F. Nilandhoo Council revealed that Council President Ali Ahmed, accompanied by a Sri Lankan national hired for maintenance work, traveled to Sri Lanka in 2023. According to the report, the purpose of the trip was to procure spare parts required for the repair of vehicles used in the council's waste management operations.

The audit report states that travel records and supporting documentation indicate a total expenditure of MVR 68,435 for the trip. According to the findings, the Council President stayed in Sri Lanka for three days, from September 19 to September 21, 2023, while the Sri Lankan national remained there for eight days, from September 14 to September 21, 2023.

The audit report stated that this trip to a foreign country was conducted without the required authorization from the Ministry of Finance. Furthermore, it highlighted that according to Section 6.01 (c) (1) of the State Finance Regulations, any payment made from a state account must be processed only after a payment voucher has been prepared in accordance with the regulations. However, the audit revealed that the F. Nilandhoo Council Office incurred expenses for a trip to Sri Lanka to procure vehicle repair parts without preparing the necessary payment vouchers.

The Council President stated that even after covering the airfare for two people, accommodation, meals, equipment procurement, and other incidental expenses, the total cost of the trip would still be lower than the expense of sourcing the items within the Maldives. However, no quotations were obtained from Maldivian suppliers for the items purchased from Sri Lanka during this trip.

The audit report states that no documentation was provided to auditors to verify that the prices of goods purchased from Sri Lanka were cross-checked against local market rates in the Maldives. Furthermore, the report highlights that authorities failed to issue a public tender or conduct adequate market research to ensure the most competitive prices were obtained locally before traveling abroad for a bulk procurement. Consequently, the audit noted that it could not be confirmed whether the trip was necessary or if the items purchased from Sri Lanka represented the best possible value for money.