Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/228261
9 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 DECEMBER 2013 examination of a sample of four payments relating to the purchase of air tickets totaling €10,682, it transpired that no quotations were obtained, as required by regulations. Simple keeping of logbooks was also ignored, with logbooks only being kept for two out of five general-use cars at the disposal of ME. From information provided during the audit, NAO found that a total of €5,814 was paid, but no fuel requisition notes were traced over the sample selected, amounting to €725. In its comments to the NAO, ME – at this point under the chairmanship of Lawrence Zammit – clarified that most of the expenditure commitments referred to in the report were into during the years preceding 2012, but remedial action had been taken. Despite empty floors, Dar Malta paid for outside storage IT has taken Malta's presidency of the European Union in 2017, to finally see another floor of the controversial nine-storey property being used. Malta's permanent representation to the EU currently occupies the top four storeys of the €21 million premises on Rue Archimede, just outside the European Commission building. The fifth floor is occupied by Malta's embassy to Belgium, and another two are occupied by third parties – amongst them Volkswagen. The third floor, currently not being leased out, is used for lunches, breakfasts, conferences and receptions organised by the Maltese mission. Another empty floor, as yet unleased, will now be used for the preparation for Malta's 2017 presidency of the Council. But the annual report by the National Audit Office has found that notwithstanding that a whole floor at Dar Malta was not being utilised, the Maltese mission in Brussels opted to lease a storage space of 87 cubic metres for an annual €4,784 cost, to store donated furniture, rather than use this empty floor. "The significant leasing costs, which to date amount to over €18,000, cannot be ignored," the NAO noted in its annual report. The furniture may well have been the Chinese donation from a longstanding government agreement with China, which donates around Lm100,000 (€233,000) in kind to Malta every three years. But when the Chinese furniture arrived in 2007, handlers unpacked chipped chairs, broken desks and other items damaged or missing on the long trek from Beijing, just on the grand opening day of the house in Brussels. It would seem notwithstanding the donation, much of this furniture was hidden away in some storage space. GENERAL PROGRAMME SOLIDARITY & MANAGEMENT OF MIGRATION FLOWS 2007-2013 Tender is part-financed from the European Union External Border Funds (EBF) Co-financing rate: 75% EU Funds: 25% National Funds Sustainable Management of Migration Flows The management also acknowledged that internal controls had to be improved and presented the Auditor General's Office with a detailed action plan. Of particular interest was that Malta Enterprise admitted that "through oversight", a contract to a regional leader had expired in August 2011 and had not been renewed. During its audit, the NAO was provided with 14 contracts when ME availed itself of the services of 15 individuals, better referred to as "regional leaders". ME clarified that the individual had been on a contract with ME for the past 10 years. One contract for the services of regional leader for India and Asia Pacific subject to NAO testing found that, despite being valid for one year until June 2012, the individual received three payments of €2,430 each for services rendered during the months of July, August and September 2012. NAO found that three out of four regional leaders on a contract for service were on a definite three-year contract, "which goes against ME's operating procedure, stipulating a contract covering a period from three months to a maximum of one year". The contract reviewed by the NAO during this exercise was that of a regional leader for China and Asia. The contract stipulated a remuneration of €30,000 per annum, excluding VAT, rent of €500 per month, the reimbursement of pre-approved flights and an incentive allowance of a maximum of €15,000 spread over a five-year period. An NAO enquiry confirmed that ME had failed to seek out clearance from MFEI before signing the contract. The audit also identified a number of reimbursements for which the regional leader was not entitled to and a transaction list provided by ME revealed a total of €10,991 – covering hospitality, freight, stationery and promotional expenses –which were not covered by the applicable contract.