L. Atoll Family, Children's Service Center project allocated against Public Finance Act
16 ޖެނުއަރީ 2021 | ހޮނިހިރު 11:512018 Audit report of Gender Ministry highlights five instances of illegal procedure in the case
Ex-Gender Minister Zenysha Shaheed Zaki
The 2018 Audit Report for the Ministry of Gender and Family reveals that the project for building a Children's Service Center in Laamu Atoll was awarded against the provisions stated in the Public Finance Act. The report by the Auditor General's Office highlights five separate instances of illegal procedure in the case and recommends changes to rectify them.
The report details that large sums of money were claimed for the purpose of constructing the L. Atoll Family and Children's Service Center building against provisions in the Public Finance Act. Work to construct the building was awarded to a private contractor in August of 2016 at a cost of MVR 7,196,819.
Once the contract was awarded, the cost incurred was deemed to be too high and the agreement was dissolved in January of 2017. The Audit report highlights that MVR 10,441,598 of state funds were granted to Sifainge Co-oporative (SIFCO) that same year in clear violation of provisions in the Public Finance Act.
Additionally, the report concludes that the reassignment of the project to SIFCO was also against the Public Finance Act, as it was awarded for the second time at a cost MVR 3,244,779 greater than the initial agreement with the private contractor.
The report also notes that the initial private contractors were awarded advance profits without deducting from progressive payment advances and retention fee, and as this is a clearly disingenuous use of state funds, the Auditor General's Office has recommended the case be forwarded to the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee for review.
In addition to this, the Audit Report denotes that goods and services worth MVR 39,217 were purchased without a bid announcement by the Ministry of Gender, and that the procurement had not been officially documented when payment was awarded for the goods and services in question.
Therefore, the report concludes that the procurement and purchasing of goods and services were not documented as detailed in the Public Finance Act by the ministry for the duration for which the audit was performed.
