STAFF REPORTER
Thimphu
According to the Royal Audit Authority (RAA), the erstwhile Ministry of Information and Communication (MoIC) had a case of irregular award of operation and maintenance works of EV charging machines and supply of spare parts amounting to Nu 13.970 million (M).
MoIC Procurement Officer, Sonam Dorji, had falsely portrayed the open procurement process through falsified tender IDs and use of cancelled tender IDs of other agencies for the award of the work to M/s S.P.D Enterprise-based in Thimphu. The case has been forwarded to the ACC for investigation.
It said the MoIC had made a fictitious payment of Nu 0.785 M for the maintenance of EV charging machines. The RAA found that these payments were approved based on applications from M/s S.P.D Enterprise, without proper verification of maintenance works carried out. Further, crucial records like a history book, log book, or register were missing.
The RAA annual report 2022-23 states that the MoIC had made a payment amounting to Nu 0.600 M for a fictitious claim submitted by M/s. S.P.D Enterprise, for the replacement of spare parts of EV charging machine at Chuzom, carried out by Thunder Motors based in Thimphu. Such unethical practices or manipulation of the documents had occurred due to collusion among the Procurement Officer, Dy. Chief Finance Officer and the enterprise.
Further, the MoIC had a case of double payment of Nu 1.682 M to M/s. S.P.D Enterprise for the maintenance of the EV Charging Station. Although the bills were submitted to the Cabinet Secretariat for payment, the Ministry had also approved and made the payment resulting in double payment. The lapses had occurred apparently due to collusion among the dealing officials and the supplier.
The MoIC had also made a double payment of Nu 0.825 M to M/s. S.P.D Enterprise for operational charges of EV charging machines. The double payment occurred due to payments made for claims already settled in the previous financial year and enhanced payments made for the claims.
Although Nu 0.825 M was recovered and deposited in the Audit Recoveries Account (ARA), legal action against the individuals is yet to be taken.
The RAA further said that the MoIC made a payment of Nu 0.200 M to M/s. S.P.D Enterprise towards the installation charges of the EV charging machine at Memorial Chorten.
The RAA found that the work was carried out by Thunder Motors Private Limited for which the claims were settled separately. Although the amount of Nu 0.200 M was recovered and deposited into ARA, legal action against the individuals or parties is yet to be taken.
Further, the MoIC had made a double payment of Nu 0.510 M to M/s. S.P.D Enterprise for a 5 KVA UPS and battery in the financial year (FY) 2020-21. The RAA found that the payment for the supplies was already made in FY 2019-2020 through the RSTA’s LC account.
The annual report states that MoIC had also made a double payment of Nu 0.608 M to M/s S.P.D Enterprise on account of the supply of office equipment vis-à-vis missing equipment.
The double payment had occurred as the payment was made by both DoS and DoIM though the office equipment was supplied to DoIM only. The supplied MacBook Pros differed from the specified i7 model. Further, Sonam Dorji did not return a Nu 0.024 M worth of printers upon resignation.
The recovered double payment was deposited in ARA. However, the ministry was advised to recover the MacBook Pros’ cost difference from M/s. SPD Enterprise, collect Nu 0.024 M from Sonam Dorji, and takes legal action against the parties involved.
The MoIC had made an irregular award to S.P.D Enterprise for the installation of CCTV across 15 EV charging stations. The RAA noted numerous inconsistencies in the award of the contract and payment providing grounds for suspecting collusions and foul play.
It was also noted that the payment was released even before the award of the contract. Further, the Ministry had also made a payment of Nu 0.998 M without actually executing or providing the items.
The RAA had questioned the whole process of tendering and recommended the Ministry to recover the value of items not supplied and confirm the legitimacy of the contract besides taking appropriate actions on individuals.
Similarly, the MoIC had made an excess payment of Nu4.782 M to Jigme Dorji Construction Pvt. Ltd based in Thimphu for the procurement of transformer and substation equipment. The RAA noted errors in quantifying the items in the works executed.
Further, the ministry had a case of forgery and tampering of documents in the contract for the construction of electrical car charging stations and related works. The RAA noted discrepancies in the records maintained in hard copy and e-GP and inconsistencies in evaluation leading to the rejection of the lowest bidder.
RAA also said that the MoIC had made an excess payment of Nu 0.788 M to Jigme Dorji Construction Pvt. Ltd. The excess payment had occurred due to erroneous billing for 11 kV route markers in Punakha and additional civil works on GI chain link mesh fences and gates in Chukha Dzongkhag.
It said that the MoIC had further made a payment of Nu 2.800 M to Link Unify on account of the renewal of FortiGate Firewall licenses for four RSTA regional offices during FY 2019-2021. There were no documents to support the expenditure incurred for renewal.
Further, the RAA noted that the RSTA regional offices were connected to Thromde WAN since 2018 and there was no requirement for renewal of the FortiGate Firewall license.
In addition, the MoIC had made a payment of Nu 2.326 M to G Y Venture, based in Thimphu for the supply of video conferencing equipment. The RAA noted that the Ministry had used the canceled tender ID of different agencies to process procurement through e-GP which indicated manipulation. Further, MCore Mini PC (OPS) is worth Nu 0.150 M was found non-functional during joint verification.
Meanwhile, the RAA said that all the cases had been forwarded to the anti-corruption commission (ACC) for investigation.
