Logic, or even a minor sense of responsibility, was all that was needed but the National Audit Office has come out rather disappointed after reviewing the expenditure of €25 million during Malta’s six-month rotating presidency of the European Council. After analysing a sample of the services acquired, the Auditor General found that on many occasions direct orders were standard procedure and no real audit trail was kept when effecting payments.
It did not come across like the whole affair was properly planned out, if at all. Either that or someone was out to take advantage of the tender opportunities the presidency offered. In either case, it is not acceptable. Much of the news coming out of the NAO is hardly encouraging nowadays and often raises alarm bells. Like in this case.
The presidency did not come about unexpectedly and, yet, the Audit Office reports that approval of direct orders was often obtained after the service was already rendered. And, worse, double payments were made to the same contractor without any verification. It sounded a throwback to colonial times, when anything obtained from the British was attributed to the ‘benevolence of the Queen’. Theft was a better word.
The NAO noted “a general lack of verification in the processing of transactions”, pointing out that agreements were entered into following the procurement of services. Out of the total payments expense, over €11 million, or 44 per cent, were paid directly through the Central Bank. While the ministry responsible said such method of payment was resorted to for amounts exceeding €250,000, the Audit Office found otherwise.
The report goes into various expenditure aspects of the presidency, particularly payments for transportation services, audiovisual facilities, the use of a debit card and outside catering.
The Auditor General pointed out that two direct orders for transportation services, for €77,760 and €22,500, were not published in The Malta Government Gazette. It was described as an “oversight” by those who ran the show, which the NAO calls the “management”, although management was hard to spot in the report.
Incredibly, the NAO recommends that the Ministry for European Affairs is to ascertain proper fiscal documentation upon making payments for the purchase of goods or services. Does a government ministry need to be told that?
The report is an utter embarrassment for the ministry. How else can one describe the Audit Office’s opening statement: “Completeness of information submitted in respect of the EU presidency 2017 could not be ascertained by the NAO. Main concerns encountered include the absence of a complete audit trail and a general lack of verification of transactions before processing by the ministry.”
Clearly, whoever managed this “presidency” still had the British Queen in mind, a colonial mindset that is an embarrassment for the country. That comes at a cost and has to stop.
People who make these decisions manage to hide behind department structures, or anonymity. But government officials, paid from taxpayer money, need to become accountable. Proper management was clearly lacking because only that would explain why there was no proper audit trails.
The anonymous taxpayer always foots the bill but is time to turn the tables. Bureaucrats have names and they are identifiable. They should be held personally responsible, if not also investigated in cases of clear violation of the rules.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial