Audit Bureau report highlights KOTC compliance, operational efficiency

The report issued by the Audit Bureau for the fiscal 2022/2023 reveals ongoing observations at the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, which have persisted for more than one fiscal year while the company has failed to address the some issues.

The Al-Jarida daily quoting sources from the KOTC said the following observations are made:

• The allocation of monthly quotas of 25 kg liquefied gas cylinders to some customers based on authorizations from commercial sector companies, in violation of Ministerial Resolution No. 33 of 1986. The company lacks a system to regulate procedures for selling liquefied gas cylinders to customers, contravening Decree Law No. 10 of 1979.
• Obstacles preventing the implementation of a project to track liquefied gas cylinders and follow the movement of tanks since the fiscal year 2010/2011.
• Failure to obtain General Fire Force approval to license 190 kg liquefied gas cylinders for commercial use, resulting in the company bearing the cost without benefiting from them. The company did not record these cylinders as fixed assets or include them among inventory items, in violation of financial regulations.
• Delays in implementing capital projects according to the plan during the fiscal year 2022/2023. The project to design and build a workshop for rehabilitating cylinders faced delays, with the completion date postponed to June 2024.
• Technical problems in the design and implementation of the liquefied gas filling plant in Umm al-Aish and its infrastructure. The company failed to address these issues, leading to a contract with a contractor for a technical examination.
• Failure to renew lease contracts for two plots of land occupied by the Maritime Agency branch, despite their expiration in 2009 and 2016.
• Kuwaitization rate for workers in the company’s contractor contracts decreased to 15.9 percent, in violation of executive regulations on national employment.
• Failure to collect debts owed to the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation for security services at the oil sector complex and its annexes, amounting to 2.924 million dinars.
• Non-adherence to the employment plan during the fiscal 2022/2023, resulting in a decrease in the operational workforce, affecting work and production plans.

These observations have persisted over multiple fiscal years, raising concerns about the company’s compliance and operational efficiency.