Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources appeared before parliamentary Public Accounts Committee yesterday to answer to questions and queries levelled against them as contained in the Audit Service Report of 2012.
According to a summary report read out by Deputy Auditor General, Tamba Momoh, “the ministry had queries bordering on breach of procurement procedures, withholding taxes, revenue not brought to account, under assessment of licences and royalty, non-delivery of outboard engines, supply of wrong specification of fishing net procured, fishing gears issued without authorized request, issue of store items without recipients’ signatures”.
Committee members were also surprised at the statement made by officials of the ministry on contract awarded to Precon Food Management BV without documents, a difference of Le 692 million in their cashbook and that of NRA, US$ 140,000 in respect of fines levied on fishing vessels whose records were not found in their cashbook and bank statement.
An additional Le 906 million was still outstanding in respect of local discharge and fines as at 31 December 2012. There was also no evidence to substantiate the committee’s approval for the reduction from US$ 20,000 to US$ 10,000 as fines levied on fishing vessel-F/v PUYU 6016.
The audit report claims that calculations of royalties were under assessed by US$ 80,316 and US$ 29,380 while advance payment of US$26,000 was made to Isabrim Enterprise on 30 April 2012 for an outboard machine that was not delivered and wrong fishing net procured that amounted to over Le1.6 million.
After all the queries the deputy chairman of the committee told the acting director that they would decide whether the acting director of the ministry, Kamorba Daboh, would have to pay back all the monies after all his very long years of service.
Daboh, he said, had been in the ministry since 1975.
When asked what he had to say regarding the allegations, permanent secretary in the ministry, Alladie Cole said he was new in the office and so could not give explanations. But a member of the committee, Foday Suma, MP, said he was very disappointed with such an answer. He said he was sure he had held other positions that he managed before.
They ministry officials were stood down and asked to return to the House on Monday.
(C) Politico 06/05/14
