THE Auditor-General has raised concerns over the Ba Provincial Council’s handling of a $29,650 work-in-progress project for new quarters for the Roko Tui Ba, citing insufficient documentation to justify the contractor’s selection.
This is stated in the Audit Report on Provincial Councils – Volume 7, which was tabled in Parliament last week.
“The council incurred work in progress (WIP) of $29,650 for new quarters for the Roko Tui Ba,” the audit stated.
A review of the council’s committee meeting minutes held on March 18, 2021, showed “a resolution was passed for the contract to be awarded to a contractor for the foundation and footing stage of work, with a cost of $28,700”.
“Documentation to substantiate the procurement process for the selection of the contractor was not provided.”
As a result, the Auditor-General said it was “unable to establish whether the WIP was incurred in compliance with the applicable procurement processes and whether the contractor was selected in a transparent manner”.