Liberals are so concerned about our money aren’t they? Management like this would net most people a pink slip in the private sector, and maybe even a call to the law authorites. In the government sector, we’re simply becoming all too used to it. Sensible people would never return them to power.
The fact that it’s the tax department of the government makes it all the worse.
A newly released audit shows the Canada Revenue Agency has repeatedly ignored government regulations when buying goods and services – partly because its managers regard them as a pain in the neck.
“Procurement rules and procedures are seen by many in the organization as unduly cumbersome and may frequently be overlooked in attempting to meet other priorities,” says the September 2004 report, obtained under the Access to Information Act.
The problem “may result in a loss of credibility and public trust for the agency as a whole.”
The auditors randomly picked 321 agency files on purchases made over a period of two years, ending March 31, 2003. They found serious problems with 180 of those files, or more than half.
All of the paperwork for 18 files, for purchases worth a total of $175,000, was found to be missing.
Other files did not include key signatures or copies of final contracts. Some managers who lacked authority to approve contracts did so anyway. Twenty-two files showed that contracts were signed only after the goods or services had already been delivered.
“A significant obstacle to completing this assessment was the lack of documentation in many files,” the report said. “Key documents were frequently missing.”
In another sampling, auditors found 10 files where managers appeared to manipulate contracts to ensure they went to a favoured supplier.
[…] The sponsorship scandal has uncovered numerous instances of financial misdeeds at Public Works where officials “broke almost every rule in the book,” according to Auditor General Sheila Fraser.
Other audits have uncovered problems at the Bank of Canada, the Justice Department, Fisheries and Oceans, National Defence and the Competition Bureau, among others.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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