A Central Auditing Organization (CAO) report on the State's Administrative Body's budget for the FY 2007/2008 has disclosed LE88-million irregularities in the results of the contracts of businesses and supplies. The CAO managed to correct some LE10 million and still studies the steps that should be taken to know where the other LE78 million have gone. Al-Masry Al-Youm exclusively printed parts from the report on its front page last week. The CAO has made several observations, as some contractors and suppliers undeservingly got sums of money. In addition, they are in debt to the administrative body due to wrong accounting. The administrative body did not take legal action against some contractors and suppliers, who did not carry out the contracts they signed with the body or supply the items on schedule. In some cases, the body withdrew the works from such contractors without collecting the differentials, delay fines, compensations and the administrative expenses. The body collected some of these fines and compensations, but less than the real value without seizing the final insurance or getting back the sums received by those contractors in advance. In addition, the body has fabricated the primary reports of some works to exempt some of the contractors from the supposed fines, the report said. The body did not observe the disciplines that should be followed in the procedures of contracts on the purchase of certain items and the implementation of some works. Moreover, the body accepted letters of guarantees that do not cover the legal periods. In addition, the contractors did not provide documents on civil liability or fire or burglary insurance. However, the body did not take the necessary action in this regard, which contravenes the terms of the contract. The body did not collect a fine on the absence of an engineer to oversee the phases of the work. Nor did it collect the fines due to the lack of vehicles or appropriate sites for the engineers who supervise the work. This also violates the terms of the contract, the report said.
