A total of 109 projects undertaken by 24 ministries and departments overshot their budgets to a cumulative amount of RM527.43 million.
According to the Auditor-General’s Report 2009 tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today, these budget overruns resulted from asset procurement, supply of goods, payments and fixed charges.
The report noted that spending without an allocation, financial mismanagement and budget over-runs were common in various ministries and government departments.
A total of 21 ministries and departments had also applied for emergency funds and additional costing amounting to RM62.2 million despite there being a RM96.33 million balance from their initial allocations being unspent.
Based on the audit analysis, there were a total of 195 cases of weak financial management were detected in several ministries and departments.
Among others:-
>> The Tourism Ministry spent RM14.7 million on Special Products Promotion Programmes despite having no allocation set aside to carry out the programme.
>> Several homes under the Tourism Ministry’s Homestay Programme were not well managed and well kept, and some were registered in the programme despite not fulfilling the set criteria.
>> The second phase of the Kuching International Airport project under the Transport Ministry was supposed to be completed by Dec 16 2009 but was extended to Oct 14 2010 due to lack of raw material supply from the quarry to complete the runway.
>> A total of 21 incidences were reported at the Kuching International Airport where more than 1,802 pieces of floor tiles repeatedly came off at the second and third levels of the main terminal building between May 2008 and December 2009.
>> Under the food supplement programme of the Education Ministry, it was found that underprivileged students were provided with only two slices of white bread with margarine, instead of sardine sandwiches that they were supposed to get.
>> Food suppliers in five different primary schools around the country were caught providing food way below the quality of the recommended menu for the RMT programme
>> Several contractors were found cheating in their supply of schoolchildren’s meals with one providing packets of instant noodles to pupils, instead of fried bihun
>> Poor quality of food in a number of hospitals under the health ministry. For example, the report cited that at one hospital, the fried chicken was still bloody, while at the Penang General Hospital, the vegetable soup served to patients was found to have fur or hair in it
>> The supply of food to the army was also found to be sub-standard, with stale fish and vegetables served to soldiers at the Terendak Camp in Malacca, as the stale produce cost a lot less than market price
>> The Skills Development Fund Corporation under the Human Resources Ministry had some 59,412 borrowers defaulting payment at a tune of RM 245.44 million as at Dec 2009
>> Four cars belonging to the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) were found to have filled up their petrol tanks in an irregular manner, on occasion with the cars filled up petrol three times in less than five minutes and no receipts were produced
Three more trips were made to petrol station at intervals of two to four hours but no mileage or proof of travelling was provided
>> Discrepancies were found in the purchase of diesel for a bus operated around Shah Alam by UiTM Shah Alam, but the diesel was purchased in Seremban using the indent card for fuel purchase between Dec 2008 and Jan 2009.
