Seven entities quizzed by FPAC |08 July 2023

Members of the FPAC meeting with the employment team

The Finance and Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly, chaired by leader of the opposition Sebastien Pillay, yesterday heard from seven government entities regarding their audited financial transactions for the year 2021 found in the Auditor General’s report.

Other members of the committee present were Terence Mondon (vice-chairperson), Richard Labrosse, George Romain, Conrad Gabriel and Sandy Arissol. Also present were representatives from the office of the Auditor General.

The oversight session is part of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee’s (FPAC) mandate to examine the financial statements of any public or statutory body and to consider any other matters related to public funds that may require an investigation or special audit. Most of the questions were related to goods and services.

Department of land transport

The department of land transport was the first to appear before the FPAC in relation to an outstanding fee, overpayments made and projects that were made without procurement approval from the Procurement Oversight Unit (POU), among other outstanding issues which lack documentations.

On the outstanding fee of R70,000 that was not paid for consultancy work on Port Victoria after the cost shot up to R222,582 from its original sum of R152,582, principal secretary Patrick Andre said it has got to do with a withholding tax issue with the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC), given that the project was sponsored by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) which is an international body. He noted that upon requesting for more money from the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade under the project, the department was advised by the ministry that there should be no overpayment.

With regard to a lack of invoices and verification of telephone bills including an overpayment of R8,611 made by the department for reparation cost for a vehicle, PS Andre stated that the increase in quotation was as a result of the importation by air of new spares which were not available locally.

Speaking on the lack of verification of telephone bills which led to late payment charges, Mr Andre explained that the bills were received through email from telecom company Airtel and were directed to one person in the department. Since the person stopped working for the department, the bills were still being sent to the person’s email address which explains the lack of verification of those bills leading to late payment charges. He said the department has put in place an internal mechanism for better monitoring to ensure that once bills are received they are verified on time for payment to avoid late or over charges.

Department of employment

Attending to questions with regard to deficiencies and shortcomings in relation to the department’s Microsoft database access system for registration of gainful occupation permit (GOP) which makes it difficult to match GOP application invoices and receipts raised, employment principal secretary Veronique Bresson explained that it was an oversight on their part as they tried to link the two systems together. She added that the Microsoft access system has already been linked to the cashier module.

She added that given the deficiencies and shortcomings, all the money in due processes are accountable. She stated that the department has started to digitise its services for ease of doing business. PS Bresson said the revision of GOP processing fee of R150 features on the department’s strategic plan and a total of R5.9 million in GOP registration fees was collected in 2021. 

With regard to a sum of R442,182 for repatriation of Seychellois workers working abroadincluding R6,000 paid to one of them as refund in June 2018, PS Bresson explained that the money which dates back to the 1980s, is the contribution by Seychellois workers, especially women, and as per the employment law at that time, it was for their repatriation in case they got into trouble while abroad. She noted that the law was repealed in 2006 and the department will have to sit down with the Ministry of Finance to decide the way forward with regard to the deposited account given that the department has no record of its depositors for refund purposes.

Speaking on wages and death benefits, PS Bresson said given changes in the law, it is up to the workers to decide who will receive those benefits on their behalf. She noted that it also applies to exchange of settlement where it is the parties who will decide among themselves. In relation to the department’s assets which are not on record, PS Bresson said assets purchased from 2022 onwards are in order but the department will have to do an exercise to input the old assets from the old system into the new digitised system.

The department was informed by the FPAC that the auditors from the Auditor General’s Office will conduct an in-depth analysis of the use of fuel by government vehicles which will also include fuel use by vehicles of the department which amounted to R459,000 in 2021. 

Seychelles Defence Forces

Most of the questions for the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) were related to payments for goods and services in 2020 among which some were without procurement approval. The organisation was being represented by the Chief of Defence Forces, Brigadier Michael Rosette.

With over R8.2 million through six payments without seeking procurement approval, Brigadier Rosette said most of the payment was made to a company in India for the servicing of the Dornier aircraft. He noted that given the company made the aircraft, servicing of the aircraft cannot go through tender biding. He added that while the SDF is following the rules for procurement, it also has mechanisms in place to justify purchase for specific items and to ensure that its future purchases go through procurement. He added that although some projects were done without procurement approval, the purchases and work done are up to standard. He further added that some of the purchases and projects were done in urgent circumstances.

With regard to missing purchased items in the main store, SDF director general for human resources and administration, Aselma Pilate, said the store has been reorganised and computerised to address deficiencies and shortcomings encountered, thus safeguarding the purchased items.

Other issues raised were the use of fuel coupons at a total cost of R2.6 million in 2020 and those were not recorded in the log book or on the mileage sheet. SDF financial controller Nellie Coopoosamy said the organisation has, as of 2021, started to record the purchase of fuel in the log book. A transport officer is stationed at the petrol station whenever SDF vehicles are to be refueled.

To add on, Brigadier Rosette said it was not professional at the time for the organisation not to record those 1,872 fuel coupons and it is for this reason that the use of coupons has been abolished. He said the SDF experienced many deficiencies prior to 2020 before the audit was held in 2021. He noted that all of SDF’s non assets are present and recorded.

Seychelles Qualifications Authority

Regarding the authority’s expenditure on goods and services in 2021 totaling R2.6 million among which 45 payments amounting to R308,000,were without procurement approval, Seychelles Qualifications Authority (SQA) chief executive officer Fiona Ernesta said it was done this way because it was not possible to get three quotations as required given that the purchase was not in big quantity. She noted that one such item includes a database evaluation system purchased in England through subscription payment.

Ms Ernesta noted that the POU is developing an internal procurement system to suit the demand of small entities like SQA requiring small quantities of a particular item. For the lack of approval of invoices totalling to R66,418, she said it was an internal oversight on their part as signatures were placed on the memos instead of on the actual proformas, including signing of covering letters and not the receiving receipts, among others. She noted that those issues have now been rectified.

Family department

In response to fuel consumption through the use of coupons totaling to R175,590 in 2020 and the  monthly fuel consumption analysis was not performed in respect of the six transports, principal secretary for family affairs, Clive Roucou revealed that the department has only two vehicles and their fuel mileage and recorded coupons are up to date.

He noted that information for the other four vehicles will have to be sorted out with the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs – their legal owners. In regards to certain non-financial assets that were not registered, PS Roucou said given the department having absorbed the poverty alleviation section from the social affairs department, all of their incoming assets including that of the family department have been recorded and are up to date.

Ministry of Education

Answering a question under goods and services in relation to 12 payments in 2021 amounting to R915,143 that was not supported by required documents including a 50% advance payment of R570,000 (R1,140,000) paid to a book store for the acquisition of books, principal secretary for the education sector development, John Lesperance, said the documents were present but due to an oversight on their part they were not sent to the procurement unit.

He noted that the ministry is now making sure they follow the procurement procedures and always try to get the lowest bidder for the books, among other items and services purchased.

Seychelles Revenue Commission

The country has R1.1 billion in unpaid taxes but 55% of the total has been forecasted for collection. Acting Commissioner of SRC Fred Morel said the SRC has in place a new mechanism to alert people on tax payment. As most of the cases of tax invasions are being objected by corresponding respondents at the SRC tribunal, the organisation also offers the possibility for a reduction in taxes to allow it to recoup some of the money owed.

With regard to R53.1 million in taxes owed to customs through bills of entry over the past three years, Commissioner of customs Paul Barrack said they are chasing those clients and if they do import other merchandises, those will be kept in customs’ possession until they get to clear the backlog on their previous tax payments. He added that another measure to recoup the money is through their agent, blacklisting or through a case in court. He noted that one importer had R39.5 million in outstanding debts with SRC since 2018 but he later received an adjustment of R26.9 million to be settled by end of December 2022 and he has already made the payment following some further adjustments made. He said the SRC has measures in place to ensure that government does not lose money.

Patrick Joubert