An audit report published by the Auditor General’s Office (AGO) has shown the Secretariat of the Parliament of the Maldives had failed to follow the rules and regulations when contracting the renovation of the Parliament building.
The audit report for the Parliament’s expenditure in 2020 shows the Secretariat of the Parliament had failed to prepare a Bill of Quantity (BOQ) after hiring a contractor to complete renovations on the building worth USD641,000. It also highlighted the contractor had not gone through a competitive bidding process and instead was hired after approval was given by the Ministry of Finance. As such, the AGO noted the Secretariat of the Parliament would not have known if the price of the renovation was competitive or appropriate for the work.
Furthermore, AGO highlighted that the established regulations dictate that the retention sum be paid back 12 months after completion of a project that exceeds USD130,000, but that the retention sum for the renovation was paid six months after the work was completed. The AGO stated it would have made it difficult to make the contractor re-do any subpar work and hold it accountable.
Therefore, the AGO advised the Secretariat of the Parliament to follow the established rules and regulations when maintaining its records. It also urged to gather and record all the necessary data in detail when procuring items and to pay the retention sum at the appropriate time.