Construction of a prefabricated steel evidence building in Dhoonidhoo in 2018 was carried out in violation of state financial regulations: audit
An audit report has revealed that the construction of the evidence building on K. Dhoonidhoo was carried out by the police in violation of state financial regulations. As the MVR 9.1 million project was awarded to POLWEC without submission to the National Tender Board, the Auditor General has recommended that all future projects exceeding the prescribed threshold be processed through the board.
Shaheed Hussain Adam Building, the Maldives Police Service headquarters. | RaajjeMV | RaajjeMV
An audit report has revealed that the construction of a prefabricated steel evidence building in Dhoonidhoo, contracted through the Police Welfare Corporation (POLWEC) in 2018, was carried out in violation of state financial regulations.
The 2021 financial audit and the 2018–2020 compliance audit reports for the Maldives Police Service have revealed that a project to construct a prefabricated steel evidence building on K. Dhoonidhoo was carried out in violation of the State Finance Regulations. According to the reports, the police service bypassed the mandatory procedures of the National Tender Board, opting instead to execute the project through unauthorized channels.
According to the details of the case, the Maldives Police Service sought approval from the Ministry of Finance in 2018 to construct a building on Dhoonidhoo Island. In their official correspondence, the police stated that a public bidding process would be too time-consuming. The police further noted that after evaluating quotes from various international parties, they had identified a preferred contractor willing to undertake the project for USD 522,292. They also highlighted that the selected party had requested a 100 percent advance payment for the work.
In its response regarding the matter, the Ministry of Finance and Planning instructed that the project be financed in Maldivian Rufiyaa and directed that a revised proposal be submitted after obtaining new price quotations. The Ministry further advised that all payments must comply with the State Finance Regulations. Following these instructions, the police obtained a quote to carry out the work through POLWEC and subsequently sought authorization to proceed with the project at the quoted price.
The Finance Ministry has authorized the project to proceed at the price proposed by POLWEC. A total of MVR 9,117,099 (nine million one hundred seventeen thousand ninety-nine) was spent on this project. However, according to Article 10.10 (a) of the State Finance Regulations, any project exceeding MVR 1.5 million must be awarded based on a decision made by the National Tender Board following a formal submission.
The audit report highlighted that the project was carried out in violation of the Public Finance Regulations. Specifically, it noted that proceeding with a project valued at over MVR 1.5 million without submitting it to the Tender Board constitutes a regulatory breach.
The recommendation issued to rectify this matter states that, in accordance with Section 10.33 (b)(1) of the State Finance Regulations, any project with an estimated value exceeding MVR 5,000,000 (five million) must be submitted to the National Tender Board for processing. It was further noted that this is a crucial step to prevent the recurrence of such issues in the future.
