According to the dissolved Maldives Broadcast Commission's (BroadCom) compliance audit, the financial statistics prepared by the commission shows that they did not receive their yearly funding of MVR 30.5 million and has included it as such, and that there is no way to check as to whether it is the amount of funding they were to receive, as was said by the Auditor General's Office.
The audit report reads that as per the 2023 commission's compliance audit report, financial statistics show that the funds the commission was to receive within that year were not given to them, amounting to MVR 30.5 million.
However, the commission did not prepare their yearly report for 2024 which was to include financial statements, with the commission informing that due to a server issue not allowing them to procure documents, they were unable to prepare the financial statistics of that year, which covers the funds that they did not receive. And so, the audit states that they were unable to properly check as to how much of the funds the commission did not receive but were supposed to up until 2024.
The audit further states that as per the recorded statistics in 2024 under the Ministry of Finance and Planning's Public Accounting System (SAP), even though the commission received MVR 7.45 million, the SAP system did not make any entries based on the funds the commission was to receive, nor was it properly maintained.
As per the audit, of the MVR 30.5 million was to receive up until 2023, it is unclear as to whether they had received funds up until 2024, if they had received any at all.
Details of the funds received by the commission in 2024 as per the SAP system:
- Cable televisions and music at exhibitions - MVR 1.8 million
- Telecommunication license fee - MVR 5.3 million
- Penalties incurred in acting against the law - MVR 222,045
- Funds owed in the previous - MVR 3,060
- From auction sales - MVR 1,400
The Auditor General has stated that even though the server experiences issues, a system where important documents related to funds should be kept safe where it does not go missing should be established and recommended that steps be taken so that they procure the funding they are owed as per State Financial Regulations.
While an audit into BroadCom was conducted, the ruling government has combined the Media Council and BroadCom, forming a new commission under the name Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission.
