A report from the Auditor General's Office has revealed that the largest unpaid amount due to the Noonu Atoll Council is from its president Mohamed Basheer.
As per the 2023 audit report of the Noonu Atoll Council, publicized by the Audit Office today, payments due for services provided by the council comes to MVR 960,124 by the end of 2023.
However, other documentation indicates that an additional MVR 1,273,995 is owed to the council as of the end of 2023, outside of the pending payments disclosed to the Audit Office.
As per the audit report, the largest amount is owed by the Council President, Basheer, with the total amounting to MVR 118,220.
Of this amount, MVR 89,820 is rent owed for State house from May 19, 2021 to December 31, 2023, the report states.
The remaining MVR 28,400 is for speedboat transfers, including those for campaign trips, according to the report.
Besides Basheer, the highest amounts are owed to the council by:
- Environment Ministry: MVR 114,500
- National Planning Ministry: MVR 105,100
- N. Kendhikulhudhoo Council: MVR 71,350
- Ministry of Health and Family: MVR 61,500
- N. Manadhoo Council: MVR 52,645
The Audit Report also noted that the council has failed to maintain a proper registry of funds owed to it, and to undertake sufficient measures to recover the funds.
Further, the council had spent on projects without formal agreements, and had failed to collect fines for failure to complete work within deadlines, the audit found. It also noted that the council had not conducted matters related to assets in compliance with regulations, and had also failed to hold the legally obligated number of council meetings.
On the issuance of salaries and allowances, the audit stated that staff were hired and range and posts were created outside of the organizational framework, and none of this was communicated to the Civil Service Commission.
