Nod of approval for ministries, dept, agencies

KUALA LUMPUR: Government ministries, departments and agencies have received a nod of approval for their programmes, activities and projects.

However, there were also certain weaknesses in the plans that must be overcome immediately, according to the Auditor-General’s Report (AGR) 2016 Series 2, tabled in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

The report referring to activities of Federal Ministries/Departments and Statutory Bodies Series 2, proposed that secretaries-general and department heads conduct a comprehensive in-house audit to see whether there were other weaknesses to be addressed.

It said the National Audit Department had only focused on certain scopes and samples in its inspection.

The report which also outlined 240 recommendations, also stressed in its conclusion that the in-house audit should be done prior to any corrective and improvement action.

Of the recommendations, 74 pertained to activities of federal ministries/departments and statutory bodies; 36, to management of federal government companies and agencies; and 130, to management of activities of state government ministries/ departments/agencies and companies.

The audit found that weaknesses in the implementation of programmes/ activities/projects were due to lack of monitoring and supervision by the responsible parties, lack of technical expertise and total dependence on consultants/contractors, as well as lack of coordination between agencies involved.

The report insisted that a detailed study must first be done on any proposed government project before being approved for implementation.

"For that purpose, in accordance with the Treasury Directive 182.1, departments/agencies must submit complete information such as project site status, project summary, project ceiling, annual allocation and project implementation schedule to the technical department," the report said.

AGR 2016 Series 2 also recommended that service heads/control officers/ department heads set up an Investigation Committee to deal with irregularities, extravagance and wastage.

"Stern action such as disciplinary action or surcharge must be taken against errant officers who failed to discharge their responsibilities without reasonable grounds and causing loss to the government," the report said. - Bernama