The Auditor General's Office, on Thursday, revealed that the project to develop the Vilivaru quarantine facility in Kaafu Atoll was contracted without approval from the bid committee.
In a compliance audit conducted concerning the Ministry of Tourism's COVID-19 expenditure, the Auditor General's Office stated that senior management of the ministry decided to oversee the project and requested the bid committee to contract the project on February 3.
Subsequently, the development of Viliaru was assigned under the single source procurement policy during a meeting of the bid committee held on March 5.
However, the audit office noted that the bid committee only approved the project on March 16, as per official records.
The Auditor General's Office also revealed that the tourism ministry did not request approval from the Ministry of Finance prior to contracting the project under the single source procurement policy. The finance ministry was only requested to approve the procurement of materials from the State Trading Organisation (STO).
Furthermore, the compliance audit disclosed that records do not indicate that the tourism ministry took any measure to ensure the financial and technical capacity of the company as mandated under the Public Finance Act.
Overall, the cost of establishing a 30-bed isolation facility at Vilivaru reached MVR 6.3 million. A figure of MVR 2.1 million was allocated directly for the construction effort while machinery costs were MVR 2.8 million. The ministry also spent MVR 1.1 million on furnishing the quarantine facility and securing equipment.
As per the audit, the government covered the cost of the facility before conducting necessary inspections.
While the compliance audit does not mention the name of contracted company, the tourism ministry previously stated that several state-owned enterprises, including Male' Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) and STO, were involved in the construction effort.
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