The Ministry of Health may have possibly committed a criminal offence when it authorized a payment of $7.956 million for works at the Diamond Drug Bond on the same day that the contract was signed, the Auditor General’s report for 2020 states.
According to Auditor General Deodat Sharma, a $7.956 million contract was awarded to the lowest of four bidders by the Ministerial Tender Board on March 11, 2020, and was signed on the same date for the general repairs and maintenance roof work at the Bond. However, the commencement date for the works, duration, completion date and defects liability period could not be determined from the documents presented for audit, the report states.
“The contractor was paid the entire contract sum on the same day the contract was signed. However, based on the scope of works, it was improbable for the works to have been completed in one day. As such, the works may have been falsely certified as having been completed, to facilitate the payment,” the Auditor General said.