PETALING JAYA: Would you pay RM224 for a set of four screwdrivers?
Probably not, but that was what the Government paid to supply tools for students at the eight National Youth Skills Institutes (IKBN) around the country, according to the Auditor-General’s (AG) report.
And it does not stop there – the AG went a step further by examining the prices paid for 12 other tools and equipment bought for the IKBN project, comparing it with market prices when the procurement was done in late 2002.
Among these were technical books consisting 10 titles that had a price tag of RM10,700 and a 3.1 megapixel digital camera that was bought for RM8,254.
According to the report, consultants for the Youth and Sports Ministry had reached an estimated price tag of RM399.67mil for the equipment for the IKBN project which later ballooned to RM767.98mil after two appeals by the ministry for additional allocations.
“The ministry said more money was needed in anticipation of a bigger student population and that getting equipment from the same supplier meant prices would remain the same.
“But there was no proof that market research was done to identify the prices of the items and equipment because minutes for the negotiation meetings were not prepared,” the report said.
It said without the minutes, the auditing team was unable to find out if efforts were made to reduce prices.
The AG also said that the ministry’s secretary-general (KSU) had signed off 11 contracts worth between RM7.99mil and RM74.2mil that were related to the IKBN project, on behalf of the Government.
“However, during the audit, no such letter giving the authority to the KSU presented itself,” the report said.
The report said there were also discrepancies such as one supplier being paid more than the other for exactly the same equipment.
One example the AG highlighted showed one supplier getting RM1.24mil more than the other for identical engineering equipment.
FM: It's so obvious...do we really need to SPELL out what's happening here... just fill in the blank C_RR _PT_ _ N
Congrates to the A-G for their thorough investigation.
No comments:
Post a Comment