Auditor General’s report confirms COVID-19 spending fears
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe - Mbongeni Mguni | Monday November 15, 2021 06:28
The findings are contained in a 116-page audit report tabled by the Auditor General before Parliament this week, providing the first glimpse into the management of the COVID-19 crisis and the frenzied government response.
Auditor General Pulane Letebele’s long-awaited report, apparently belated because some entities delayed in submitting records, does not deal with alleged procurement abuses in the food basket programme, specific details on the pricing of direct procurement tenders and alleged improper award of COVID-19 related supply contracts.
The food basket programme, which ran over three months last year, used a total of P431 million feeding 429,255 households. Local Government and Rural Development minister, Eric Molale has already said 'a phenomenon' of overpricing of commodities, especially agricultural produce, was noted where intermediaries were getting commodities from farmers at 'pittance prices' and selling to government at exorbitant prices.
However, Letebele’s report does provide the first official picture of how the initial eight months of the pandemic were conducted, after the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global public health emergency. In particular, the report paints a picture of poor preparation as well as routine, but repeated financial abuses costing millions, all within the four months between April 2020 when the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Botswana and August 30, 2020, which is the end of the audit period.
From the report, these are some of the most glaring findings by Letebele and her team:
• Ministry of Health and Wellness was hit with a P58.9 million bill for quarantine accommodation by hotels and others, despite an unofficial pledge that the services would be provided as Corporate Social Responsibility. The Auditor-General could not find any formal agreement for the 'charity' • Two companies, Mileage Group and Pula Rich Investments were paid a total of P80 million via direct procurement for testing kits and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) but failed to deliver the full supply. The audit could not find evidence for approval of this particular direct procurement • At least P24 million in 'in-kind' donations by various organisations could not be verified • Call-centre software was procured for P638,479 but the centre was later abandoned without documentary evidence providing reasons. A part payment of P437,236 was made for the software but the centre was dumped and never used • No records exist for why payments amounting to P343,200 were made to several companies • Remuneration within the Presidential COVID-19 Task Force was a messy affair, with one support team member double-dipping, earning P165,600 despite the fact that his/her full-time employer had pledged the services as 'donation' • A foreign professional in the country on a visit was engaged to the Task Team and paid P1,800 daily allowance, although no record of payment exists
Letebele notes that procurement during the audit period was problematic.
“Procurement of PPEs and medical commodities was not done at market rates and not in compliance with emergency procurement processes,” she noted. “There were delays in the delivery of PPEs, which materially impacted on the quality and value for money of the services or products delivered. “Similarly, there were weaknesses in the effectiveness of the internal controls in the exercise of oversight to ensure performance and financial accountability by inadequate planning, and coordination of responsible personnel.”
The Auditor General said the probe had shown instances of irregular spending, which could result in negative consequences.
Her findings confirm legislators’ previously stated fears that COVID-19 spending was and has been fraught with irregularities. Government drew down P12.6 billion from the country’s reserves in 2020 to support the budget and COVID-19 spending. The audit provides the first look, although limited, at how efficiently or properly used the funds were.
The fact that at least 100 people became US dollar millionaires in Gaborone alone last year, has added to the rising demands for a full and comprehensive accounting of every thebe spent by the different procuring entities on COVID-19.
The terms 'COVIDpreneurs' and 'COVID-millionaires' have stoked anger among ordinary citizens who suspect the public purse was looted by entrepreneurs who inflated prices of pandemic goods and services, sometimes with the collusion of corrupt public officers.
The use of emergency direct procurement, in particular, has raised concerns that funds were either improperly awarded to companies or goods and services were bought at inflated prices.
Critics of the spending say troubles appear to have intensified after COVID-19 spending was moved to the Task Team and away from the Health Ministry on May 18, 2020. The Task Team, under the Office of the President, used the direct procurement method, which while speedier, limits procuring entities from gauging whether they have received the best price. It is open to abuse through conflicts of interest amongst those in charge of awarding the tender.
In addition, critics have pointed out that the leadership of the Health Ministry was changed frequently last year, with the Minister being moved and the permanent secretary and the Health Services director leaving, meaning the continuity required for effective accountability was compromised. Poor record-keeping and the Auditor General’s own inability to travel countrywide for her audit, mean as damning as her results are, they do not represent a complete picture.
For instance, Letebele noted that many 'in-kind' donations to COVID-19 could not be verified while reconciliations for cash donations made by the private sector, ordinary Batswana and others, had a backlog between the banks the register used by government.
Letebele previously said her department would have wanted to be better capacitated to conduct real-time monitoring of COVID-19 spending.
The report contains blow by blow responses from government on the audit findings and in many cases, the accounting officers attribute their decisions to the threat posed by the pandemic and the need to quickly arrange procurement and make decisions.
But Letebele also says the preparation for the pandemic was shambolic with “no lessons from the HIV pandemic to ensure adequate readiness”. For instance, when COVID-19 broke out in Botswana, authorities rushed to quarantine people at hotels, which later charged government P58.9 million for their services. While initially government had expected this service to be a donation, no formal agreement was made.
And the hotel quarantine was needless as it was done at a time when cases were minimal. A standard quarantine fee of P500 per day was later negotiated, meaning that while between April and June government paid P58.9 million, between July and August it only spent P4.4 million, even though cases had ballooned.
“An analysis of the expenditure incurred on quarantine services revealed that initially, expenditure was higher when the country had fewer COVID-19 cases,” the Auditor General noted.
Legislators are expected to debate Letebele’s report in the coming weeks.