Region Four administration breached procurement threshold in awarded contracts

Jan 03, 2021 News

– AG report for 2019

Kaieteur News – The Auditor General (AG)‘s report 2019 has highlighted breaches of the procurement threshold in the award of contracts at Regional Procurement and Tender Administration Board (RPTAB).
According to the report, the Procurement Act 2003 states that the limit for requesting of quotations is $3M.
However, the Regional Administration was utilizing the Request for Quotations (RFQ) method of procurement for projects up to $4M. The report noted that as a result, there was no evidence to support and justify the basis of awards for these contracts.
The report noted too that the Head of Budget Agency indicated that for capital projects, the RFQ form of tender were used for all projects under $4M.
As such, the procurement unit is trying to locate the evaluation reports for the remaining projects and requests that same will be submitted.
“A request was made to the Regional Administration for the submission of Evaluation Reports and Regional Procurement and Tender Administration Board (RPTAB) Minutes for all current and capital contracts awarded by the Regional Tender Board during the year. However, these Evaluation Reports were not presented in relation to sixty-eight maintenance works contracts and eighteen capital contracts totalling $317.461M and $87.987M respectively, “ the report outlined.
Given the difficulty, the Audit Office recommended that the Regional Administration comply fully with the Procurement Act 2003 and ensure all Evaluation Reports are submitted for audit inspection.
Meanwhile, the report underlined the lack of proper record keeping in terms of purchases for fuel and lubricants.
According to the AG report, an examination of the fuel slips and log books presented, revealed that twenty-two log books were not properly written up to reflect the total amount of fuel received.
The report noted that: “As a result, we could not determine whether proper control was exercised over the consumption of fuel.”
The report indicated that the Head of Budget Agency explained that the regional administration will ensure all log books are properly written up to reflect the total amount of fuel received.

The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) constructed two pump stations at BV/Triumph and Cane Grove. The pump stations were then commissioned to the Regional Democratic Council, which has the sole responsibility for maintenance as well as the daily operational aspects.
Audit examination of the fuel slips and payment vouchers revealed amounts totalling $814,900 and $4.581M were expended for maintenance and purchase of fuel respectively. However, no log book was presented for the pump station at BV/Triumph.
In addition, the fuel register was not properly written up. As a result, auditors could not determine if the fuel received and issued was utilized for official purposes. In addition, despite receiving fuel from the regional administration, these pump stations were not on the official vehicle and equipment listing of the region.
As a result, the Audit Office recommended that the Regional Administration ensure that log books are maintained for all vehicle and equipment and are properly written up in accordance with the stores regulations at all times.

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