OP careless with money

BAME PIET
Staff Writer | Wednesday April 14, 2010 00:00

 

Among those organizations are Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS), Botswana Defence Force (BDF), Botswana Police Service (BPS) and National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA).

The AG has found that the DIS has spent approximately P11 million on the purchase of motor vehicles and office furniture and staff training during the 2008-09 financial year. 'I have not been able to appreciate why these expenditures, involving substantial amounts of money as they did, were met from the fund under which funds had not been provided, instead of from appropriate expenditure votes in Estimates of Expenditure for the year 2008/09,' he said in the report.

Turning to Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Rewards and Fines Fund, the AG said that he had in the past expressed reservations about the manner in which the fund was managed and whether it was really benefiting soldiers and their families.

He said that a total of P77 000 was paid to the families of deceased soldiers in terms of the BDF Act, while a balance of P308 000 made up grant payments to soldiers on the deaths of their families. 'As indicated earlier I still await a ruling on the appropriateness of these latter payments from the Fund,' he said in the report.

The Auditor General queries the construction of the auditorium and officers mess in 2003, that was later varied to include three high cost houses at a price of P914 000 each. 'The justification for this course of action was that it was cost effective to go about it that way, and that the price was lower than the construction rates at the time. It was also a consideration that the construction would be sub-contracted to a 100 percent citizen-owned company,' he said. A fourth house was added to the main contract at the same rate as the original houses.

'However, the three houses were finally completed at a cost of P2 million each, and the construction of the forth was abandoned when an amount of P1 509 137 had already been paid for it,' he said.  The second contractor was called in at a price of P600 000, but he also failed to perform but he had already pocketed P506 000 before the contract was terminated in March 2008.

Botswana Housing Cooperation has been called in to complete the project. 'While it is beyond reasonable expectation and belief that the fourth house should have taken six years to complete, it is equally of concern that the cost of construction of all the four houses that turned out to be far in excess of the original contract amount, which can only be a reflection of poor project management control,' the report says.

As for the Botswana Police Service the AG found that exhibits have disappeared at the Good Hope Police Station even before criminal cases against suspects could be resolved in courts. He said that between 2002 and 2008 at least 20 cases of missing exhibits were recorded and no explanation was given by the Accounting Officer. 

'The Accounting Officer has since replied and indicated that the exhibits in question had been appropriately disposed of, but that the register had not been duly updated.

While I accept the Accounting Officer's explanations, I am still concerned at the lack of diligence on the part of officers who are directly in charge of these matters in not maintaining registers up to date over long periods and not being able to provide necessary explanations at the time of the audit'. The construction of Police facilities at Middlepits - police station and staff housing - was initially budgeted for P24.2 million, but completed at P32 million after 18 months time expansion. 'It was explained that the excesses over the contractual terms were due to additional works, delayed deliveries of materials and unforeseen ground conditions which necessitated blasting'. The AG found that there was poor planning prior to the commencement of the project.

The Dibete police housing project at the Dibete Veterinary Control Gate housing has also not been impressive.

The project involved 15 low cost and five medium cost houses and was completed 18 months after initial completion date at an additional cost of P4 million and one house had serious structural defects.

'However, an audit site visit in August 2007 indicated that not one, but a number of houses had multiple structural cracks and the wooden skirting in some houses had been damaged by ants, indicating that soil treatment had not been done properly, and necessary preventive action taken, before the project commenced.'

In another case in Gaborone the Botswana Police Services purchased a forklift truck in the year 2000, that was to be used by the Transport and Telecommunications Branch for use at the Quartermaster's stores. The truck was delivered and a P97 000 payment was made. It was later found that the truck was not suitable for use in the warehouse and was returned to the supplier on the understanding that he would provide a suitable replacement or refund the purchase amount. For eight years the supplier never met with the police and the matter was resuscitated in 2008.

'At that point the supplier had reportedly become uncooperative and he would neither attend meetings called nor respond to letters written to him, ostensibly relying on prescription provisions of the law,' the AG says.

At NACA findings are that public funds are being spent carelessly with nobody willing to account for such expenditures.  The AG says a number of items of computer equipment, including computers, printers, laptops and laptop carry cases were purchased without the authority of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) although they were in excess of P10 000 limit.

The items have not been registered anywhere and some of them were donated to an agency outside government institutions. 'I made enquiries regarding the circumstances and authorities under which these donations had been sanctioned, as well as the identification of the beneficiary body'.