Audit Report: Vilivaru quarantine facility project violates public accounts regulation

The Compliance Audit Report by the Auditor General has found that there was possible activities that could lead to corruption were committed in the construction and establishment of the COVID-19 quarantine facility in K. Vilivaru.

The report shows that a total of MVR 6.5 million was spent on the quarantine facility in Vilivaru.

Points noted in the audit report:

• Violation of the Public Accounts regulations of the country when the Ministry signed the agreement for the project with a local company before the Bid Committee permitted to do so. 
• Unnecessary spending for the project.
• Lack of inspections for the project as stipulated under the Public Accounts regulations.

The audit report did not just cover the Vilivaru quarantine facility, however, consisted of several aspects of operations carried out by the Tourism Ministry during the situation with COVID-19. 

The report stated that the 30-room facility in Vilivaru was funded through the Tourism Trust Fund and was awarded to a company on February 2, 2020, long before the bidding committee permitted the Ministry to do so. This was cited as a violation of the public account regulations in the report. 

Expenses incurred in the project include MVR 2.87 million for the construction of the facility (including logistics). Sourcing furniture for the project which cost MVR 1.1 million. Equipment sourcing and cleaning of the facility as well as transport expenses were accounted as MVR 165,331. Other expenses included MVR 164,420, which in total cost MVR 6.10 million. 

The audit report said that there were violations of the Public Accounts regulations in how the project was awarded. The Ministry did not ensure or inspect whether the project was awarded to a company with the technical or financial capabilities to carry out such a project.

The project was awarded before the bid committee permitted the project to be awarded. 

The report instructed the institutions to adhere to the public account regulations and to ensure that projects are awarded to companies with the financial and technical capabilities to carry out the projects.

It also instructed that single source procurement policies are also to be followed under the public account regulations and also to maintain documents related to such projects.

Projects carried out using state funds are also to be conducted in a manner that would bring long-term benefits to the government and also to identify whether there are any cost-cutting factors that can be implemented as well.