Shortcomings in the checking conducted by the Salaries Section within the Ministry for Gozo prior to issuing salaries were among concerns raised by the Auditor-General in the Audit Report, 2007, tabled in Parliament this evening.
The National Audit Office (NAO) also found that debenture interest and loan repayments recorded as received from a public corporation were effectively paid by government, and the Public Account for the period June 1992 – December 2001, as shown in Treasury Books and those of the Central Bank of Malta, had not yet been reconciled.
Lack of controls over duties and work performed by part-time consultants/advisers employed with various ministries was also noted.
A number of concerns arose when an audit of the Social Security Contributions – Class I (Post 1998) - was carried out at the Inland Revenue Department. In particular it was noted that:
· enforcement measures needed to be urgently introduced to ensure collection of the amounts of Social Security outstanding;
· there was a lack of proper monitoring ensuring compliance with settlement agreements; and
· the Department was not in a position to quantify the amounts due by employers.
The NAO in a statement said that shortcomings in audit at the Education Division revealed that the School Transport Section (STS) lacked segregation of duties. Lack of controls in the system resulted in overpayments; moreover, shortcomings in the contract of service were also noted. The budget for the provision of School Transport was exceeded.
Procurement of routes in connection with ‘Special’ School Transport for students in the mainstream schools was not always effected in accordance with standing procurement regulations. The service provider, who was awarded the new contract, continued to invoice the Education Division with the rates of the previous contract which were higher.
IT network accessories meeting the criteria of tangible fixed assets were not included in the inventory records of the Ministry for Gozo. Audit trail of a number of other items purchased in 2006, from the budget cost centre of the Ministry on behalf of other departments, was also lacking in the inventory records. It was also noted that 11% of the total inventory value reported by the Department of Corporate Services was damaged.
A lack of periodical review of files in respect of Sickness Assistance benefits was encountered in an audit carried out at the Social Security Department.
NAO said segregation of duties at the Maltese Embassy in Paris was lacking. Completeness of revenue collected on behalf of Government could not be confirmed mainly due to lack of source documentation. Administrative guidelines issued by the Head Office to the Maltese Missions abroad need to be reviewed.
The full report can be viewed as from tomorrow on NAO website: http://www.nao.gov.mt.