Indications of the lack of transparency in the procurement process in some government entities have been revealed to the Public Accounts Committee by the Auditor General.
The Accounts Committee has analyzed the 2009 Auditor General’s Performance Audit and said some entities did not call for tenders, the audit highlighted the non-existence of pre-established criteria to evaluate tenders and there were no clear instructions of the procurement process from the request process to the actual delivery of goods and services.
The Committee also states that there was unavailability of procurement procedures and policies in a manner that would be available for public viewing.
The report also said that none of the procurement policies in the nine entities examined had identified the requirement for employees to declare any conflict of interest in the procurement of goods and services.
Public Accounts Committee Deputy Chairperson, Adi Laufitu Malani reveals the government entities not having the necessary policies at the time of the audit and their recommendations.
As for the purchases done prior to the audit, Malani said they have to see what can be done as there is a statute of limitation that they can only go back 5 years.
Story by: Vijay Narayan
