Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) was accused by the Parliamentary Budgets and Final Accounts Committee for having poor oversight over its budget allocations.
The remarks by the committee, headed by MP Adnan Abdulsamad, were made during discussions on the ministry’s budget, as well as observations made by the State Audit Bureau and the Bureau of Financial Controllers for the fiscal year 2018/2019.
Evaluating the efficacy of the monitoring departments in the ministry, the committee found that oversight had several shortcomings, especially in the provision of allowances to both employees and citizens. The committee pointed out that this issue had been raised several times in the past, but violations continued unabated and the ministry now owed the government in excess of KD20 million.
The committee also recommended expediting the establishment of an electronic link connecting the different bodies collecting donations in the country with the ministry, in order to monitor this process automatically.
On another note, the committee reiterated calls made by the State Audit Bureau to remove all obstacles to the speedy completion of construction projects in the country. The committee pointed out that among the reasons for construction delays was the lack of awareness about relevant laws and the contracting procedures by officials at the concerned ministries, as well as the slackness in providing relevant documents by the contracting firms.
The committee said that early completion of projects could help rein in expenses incurred by the delays as well as reduce the cost borne by the ministry in paying rents of some buildings.