The Education Ministry spent almost RM60,000 for maintenance of a school garden in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, because of overpriced trees, according to the 2008 Auditor-General's Report.

NONE The report, tabled in Parliament last Monday, revealed that the ministry had purchased the trees for Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Jawa 2, Pasir Putih, through direct negotiation with a local supplier.

According to the 543-page report, the ministry had, for instance, paid as much as RM4,550 for 13 units of frangipanis and RM9,000 for 12 units of pinang merah.

However, after thorough checks with local suppliers who offered the same service, it was found that the ministry could have obtained the same items at a much lower price.

For example, the same number of frangipani and pinang merah plants could have been bought for RM585 and RM1,560 respectively.

"Thus, the ministry had spent between four to eight times more than the market price," said the report.

Based on a table in the report, the ministry paid a total of RM37,450 when it could have saved at least RM31,000.

NONE The report attributed the problem to the ministry's failure to conduct market research prior to the purchase.

Despite the weaknesses being pointed out, the ministry maintained that it had "no time" to conduct market research because the project had to be carried out urgently.

"In view that this project needed to be operational in January 2008, the outstanding work had to be completed as soon as possible," it explained briefly.

Documents incomplete

On a separate note, the audit team revealed that eight vouchers worth RM520,000 paid to contractors for maintenance and repair work on schools were not supported with complete documents.

The report said four schools had failed to provide the complete documents which should have included the scope of work, invoices, local orders and work schedules.

The schools were SMK Kundasang, Ranau, Sabah, SMK Raja Lumu, Klang, Selangor, SK Rantau Panjang, Kuala Selangor, Selangor and SK Batu 9, Tanjung Karang, Selangor.

"In our view, in order to avoid any irregularities, the ministry should ensure that the payments were supported with complete documents," said the report.

NONE For instance, SMK Kundasang had spent RM34,398 on "something that cannot be identified" and it also failed to come up with any supporting documents.

SMK Raja Lumu also did not provide supporting documents for the scope of work including replacing and painting a door, floor restoration, work on classroom windows and roof repair works which amounted to RM99,922.

SK Batu 9, Tanjung Karang, failed to present its scope of work for painting of Blocks B and C of the school at a cost of RM83,671.

Payment for work not done

According to the report, the ministry's main weakness was in monitoring maintenance and repair works at schools as it "does not have enough financial allocation and technicians" for the job.

"This also contributed to poor monitoring and consultation on maintenance done by the contractors," it said.

The ministry has been urged to come up with a maintenance schedule that would be "preventive and corrective" for schools nationwide based on General Circular 2 1995, to prevent any further irregularities.

"The ministry and the Works Department also need to provide a clear scope of maintenance and repair work, to make the job easier for both contractors and supervisors," the report said.

It also called on the ministry to act against those who have been paid for work not done, as it could be classified as "improper payment".

"If such certification was made by a public servant, disciplinary action or surcharge should be taken against him or her.

"If it involves consultants, their companies should be blacklisted and their offences reported to the professional body that regulates (them)."