Parliament Audit Report:
Tickets worth MVR7.7 million were purchased in a manner not beneficial to the state

The Audit Report of the Parliament for 2011 has revealed that tickets worth MVR7.7 million were purchased for travels by MPs and parliament employees in a manner that was not the most advantageous for the state.

The report, signed by Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim and released today, states that MVR7,771,986 was spent by the parliament on tickets alone in 2011, and that the tickets were not purchased by obtaining quotations as required by the Public Finance Act, which means that it was not done in the manner that would have been most beneficial to the state.

The report said that MPs and parliament employees who went on the same trip took different routes instead of travelling on the same day and on the same route, and that this resulted in losses worth MVR182,382 to the parliament office.

“This resulted in extra speedboat trips, which increased this expense for the parliament office. It was also noted that details such as the purpose of the trips and people who took part in them were missing,” the report said.

The report highlighted that expensive tickets instead of cheap ones were purchased for two MPs for an official trip, which was against the Public Finance Act. This resulted in a loss of MVR137,803 for the parliament office. Moreover, the two MPs were given DSA at two different rates and also provided $496 in addition to the amount determined by the Finance Ministry as DSA. The report did not disclose the names of the two MPs.

It noted that a Maldivian company was appointed to arrange sea transport for the chairman of the Chinese legislature during his visit to Maldives in 2011 following an invitation by the Maldivian Speaker of Parliament. While no announcement was made before the Maldivian company was appointed, MVR176,500 was spent for the trips.

Moreover, MVR75,000 was spent on hiring backup speedboats which were never used. Also, MVR40,709 was spent on a one-way trip by VVIP a speedboat in addition to the backup speedboats, resulting in a total expense of MVR81,418.

The Audit Office said that MVR257,918 was spent on these trips, and that such a large sum had to be spent due to the lack of proper planning.

The Auditor General advised the parliament to act in accordance with the laws and regulations, and to reclaim the funds from the parliament employees who had caused losses for the state.