The Ministry of National Disaster Management has assured the Auditor General that it will follow the processes and issue Local Purchase Orders when procuring goods and services.
This follows incidents highlighted in the 2013 Auditor General’s Report which said that a total of $816,551 was paid in December 2013 to three hardware companies based on a blanket approval issued.
The report said the blanket approval issued to the suppliers did not contain any ceiling amount for the cost of building materials to be supplied.
The Ministry said that the blanket approvals were issued on the strengths of powers given to the Ministry which is within the 30 days after the declaration of the state of natural disaster in December 2012.
The audit established that the 30 days expired in February 2013 and the blanket approval procurement was still made 334 days after the expiry of the 30 days.
The Auditor General said the Permanent Secretary should ensure that procurement procedures for immediate relief assistance are properly followed.
The management of the Ministry of National Disaster Management says that the Purchase Order was not issued when procuring goods and services on this rehabilitation exercise due to the directive from the headquarters on AG’s authority.
The management also told the auditors that the waiver of tender approval was given by the Permanent Secretary of Finance to procure materials from the hardware companies and payment of invoices to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance for approval of payments.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
