BRADES, Montserrat (May 10th, 2013) – The Honourable Financial Secretary John Skerritt says he is being brought up to speed on the status of issues which led to the Department for International Development (DFID) suspending further funding for the Restructuring of Public Works Mechanical Workshop Project.
DFID Resident Representative Kat Kimbugwe announced Tuesday in a statement that the funds have been suspended pending the outcome of an audit being conducted by the Office of the Auditor General.
“On the 23rd April 2012 GoM wrote to DFID informing us of an on-going investigation into procurement practices in the implementation of this project. GoM requested technical assistance to support an audit of the project. An independent procurement audit was commissioned and conducted by the Auditor General in January 2013,” the release said. “While we await the outcome of the audit, DFID has suspended any further funding of the project.”
The financial secretary recently returned from an extended vacation and said he is in contact with the relevant department heads to ascertain the status of the audit and also any outstanding issues at PWD. He added that the necessary plans are being made to ensure that the project can get back on stream in the shortest possible time.
In the interim, DFID said it will conduct an annual review of the project as stipulated in the joint project Memorandum of Understanding.
Last Friday, the development agency also halted funds for the A1 Road Improvement Project until a realistic implementation plan for the successful and timely completion of the upcoming phases and a status report on monies already disbursed funds.
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Montserrat News