Irregularities highlighted at Agriculture Marketing Authority

The Auditor General's Report on the 2007 accounts of the Agriculture Marketing Authority has highlighted significant losses in trading activities, the usage of companies for contracts owned by certain former board members and incidents of conflict of interest.

The Public Accounts Committee has recommended that these issues need to be fully investigated by FICAC.

According to the committee, as at 31st December, 2006, there were significant losses in a number of trading activities which included root crops, seafood and honey, resulting in losses of over 115 thousand dollars.

It has been revealed that a small chartered accounting firm was appointed to conduct due diligence on the proposed merger with Food Processors Limited even though there were others which included a bigger accounting firm that had a lower bid.

Unnecessary travelling costs have also been highlighted by some board members who were entrusted with public funds to ensure that people in the agriculture sector have secure markets for their produce.

It has been revealed that a business trip to Malaysia incurred extra costs because of stopovers in Sydney and Singapore.

The Authority also used a foreign exchange agency partly owned by one of the former board members to facilitate the transfer of funds for the Authority when it was planning to set up a ginger factory and was in the process of identifying ginger processing equipment which was to be purchased from China and paid in US dollars.

Quotes on exchange rates were obtained from six foreign exchange outlets.

However the former board member's agency which did not provide a quote, was chosen.
 
The committee said fortunately the deal was aborted.

The Accounts Committee also stated that it had difficulties with obtaining the responses to questions that were sent to the Authority as the CEO was on suspension and the Acting CEO joined started in October last year.

It said all staff and board members implicated are no longer with the Authority.

FICAC is expected to comment later today.

Story by: Vijay Narayan