Latest update April 4th, 2025 5:09 PM
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Education Ministry repeatedly flouts Procurement Law
– millions involved
The long awaited 2008 Auditor General Report which has pointed out a plethora of financial discrepancies as it relates to several Ministries and Budget agencies, has illustrated that the Ministry of Education, headed by Minister Shaik Baksh, has repeatedly failed to conform to the requirements of the Public Procurement Act.
According to the now public document, first there was no evidence that the Ministry’s Tender Board met during the year under review since minutes or other documentations, such as evaluation reports, were not presented for audit examination.
As a result, the basis of award for matters requiring MTB adjudication could not be determined.
The Report prepared by the Office of the Auditor General stated, too, that the Procurement Act required the MTB to “select from the pool of evaluators appointed by the National Board, three evaluators with expertise and experience to serve as members of the Evaluation Committee for such procurement.”
The MTB failed to submit the required information and as such, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board could not proceed with the appointment of members for the Ministry’s Evaluation Committee.
The Head of that Budget Agency explained that owing to the unavailability of all Members, at all times the round robin system was applied and minutes recorded, “however, measures are being put in place to rectify this undesirable situation.”
The Audit Office as such recommended yet again the Head of Budget Agency take immediate steps to ensure that all acts of the MTB confirm to the requirements of the Procurement Act.
According to a register kept by the Secretary of the Tender Board, the Ministry’s Board adjudicated over 90 awards totalling $52.671M for purchases of goods and services and 24 awards amounting to $17.025M for construction but there were several discrepancies found.
It was discovered that three tender board files for that number of awards were not presented for audit examination.
The report documents that while the Ministerial Tender Board was appointed in keeping with the Procurement Act, the Board did not function in keeping with the Act, since it co-opted the “round robin system” of operation and its members approved awards based on recommendations of an evaluation committee not appointed by the NPTAB in keeping with the Procurement Act.
It was noted too that the approvals of members of the Board were affixed to the evaluation reports without reasons for the decisions being stated and formal minutes being prepared.
It was pointed out that 52 awards amounting to $30.576M were approved solely by the Chairman, while there were 16 awards valued at $9.705M approved by two members of the Tender Board and two awards for $630,908 where there was no evidence of the Board’s approval.
According to the Auditor General, this revelation therefore invalidate the awards, since in those instances the Board would not have been deemed to have had a quorum or properly constituted.
The preparation for the Auditor General’s 2008 report also found that a critical examination of the awards revealed that 24 awards for goods and services valued at $12.389M had required the adjudication at the level of the NPTAB, but were instead awarded through the Ministry’s Board.
The Head of that Budget Agency did assure that the regulations and guidelines of the Procurement Act will be observed whilst the Audit Office recommended that the Ministry institute measures to ensure that the Procurement Act as it relates to the adjudication over the awards of contracts for construction, goods and services is adhered to in all respect.
The Ministry is still to state how much money was spent to renovate and refurbish 45 schools across the country.
The queries were made since September last year but Minister Shaik Baksh, despite a promise to provide the answer has failed to do so.
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