26 ambulances bought for $4m yet to be supplied – Auditor-General’s Report

The Auditor-General’s report on Covid-19 has disclosed that the Ministry of Health agreed to purchase 26 Toyota Hiace Deluxe ambulances for US$4,049,460.12 in December 2021, however the ambulances have been by no means delivered.

The report on expenditures for Covid-19 between March 2020 to June 2022, indicated {that a} complete of US$607,419.02 out of US$4,049,460.12 was paid for the ambulances to be delivered by January 15, 2022.

(*26*) to particulars of the report, as of November 28, 2022, no ambulance had been delivered.

In the report, the Chief Director defined that the provider for the ambulances utilized for an extension of supply date to meet some technical specs.

The Auditor-General opined that, “under the current economic difficulties, the supplier could apply for price variation to unduly increase the cost of the contract which could have been avoided if the ambulances had been supplied as scheduled.”

The contract has since been prolonged to March 2023 after a technical inspection by the World Bank and a suggestion for extra specs.

The Auditor-General has thus really useful that “the Chief Director should ensure that the ambulances are delivered no further than the extended date of March 2023.”

The A-G additionally reported that $80m value of vaccines paid for by authorities has not been delivered. 

(*26*) to the A-G, authorities paid over $120m to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) however solely $38m value was delivered. 

The Auditor-General has, thus, really useful to the Chief Director of the Health Ministry to renegotiate and get better the excellent steadiness.