The Audit director, in his report submitted last week has once more taken to task several ministries and State departments. Education, health, agriculture, the police, public services like the Waterwaste Management Authority (WMA)… All of them – and even more – have been pinpointed to demonstrate the extent of wastage, negligence and lack of follow-up in many of their current and development projects.

Many of the neglected projects have one common denominator: the ministry of Public utilities since it is responsible for the management projects of all ministries and departments. The problem may be the fact that this ministry doesn’t know where to start. Every project is centralized there but it doesn’t have skilled staff to deal with all the projects. As a result, the former director of audit advises the authorities to “scrap an old-fashioned system and implement a modern management.”

One of the biggest scandals revealed in the audit report is the supply of unsuitable foodstuffs to pupils of the Zone d’éducation prioritaire (ZEP). The contract, representing Rs 9.3 million, was allocated to a company with no experience in the field. Following two cases of food poisoning, the authorities took the decision to avoid meat and salad in favour of cheese, jam, fruit and yogurt. But the latter are not always fresh when they reach the school and some pupils have fallen sick. “Children’s health has been threatened several times while the goal of providing them with a balanced meal has not been reached,” says the report.

Likewise, there have been many problems linked to the construction or renovation works in schools. Waste of money has been rife because of lack of organization and planning. The best example is the SSS Quartier Militaire where Rs 5.6 million had to be disbursed because of changes in plans.

Just as in his report for the previous financial year submitted in March 2004, the audit director stresses the poor control of expenses and the lack of justification in the choice of companies, which were allocated important contracts. Moreover, some of these same firms had proved undesirable in the past.

Total reform badly needed

The health sector has not been spared. In last year’s report, it was one of the main sectors pinpointed. The report denounces the bad organization of the ministry following the purchase of a specific machine to eliminate gall bladder stones costing more than Rs 6 million. No arrangement was made with the supplier concerning a warranty after purchase. As a result, the machine has broken down 318 times since 2000 and no one has been successfully treated so far.

The delay in the rehabilitation of the infrastructure at Jeetoo Hospital is another sore point. Such works had been planned since June 1991. Thirteen years later, the hospital is in exactly the same state and this has prevented the installation of an important machine to treat heart disease.

Even if Rs 18 million have been used to repair rooms and operating theatres, the latter are still in a poor state. But the authorities have given the assurance that the ministry of Public utilities is already working on solutions.

The report is also severe towards the WMA because of delay in doing its job. The management of projects such as the main sewer system in Grand-Bay and the sewage treatment plant in St-Martin should be improved, says the director. It is the WMA’s responsibility to plan and take the right decisions at the right time to minimize complaints made by entrepreneurs. Because of delays in the execution of the Grand-Bay project, it should cost Rs 250 million instead of the Rs 216 million initially forecast.

Other sectors like tourism, environment and taxation, not to mention all the others, are in the director’s sights. What emerges from his report is that there must be a total reform of project management to allow better organization and avoid such waste of money. Although the audit director can’t impose sanctions on the ministries and departments involved, this report may at least make things move in the right direction.