Annual Report

Procurement audit and investigation a priority

(May 8, 1998) - OPA released its Annual Report for calendar year 1997. At the same time, OPA also released its semi-annual report on CNMI agencies' implementation of audit recommendations as of March 1998.

In his annual report message, Public Auditor Leo LaMotte said "CNMI procurement practices include far too much use of the sole source method of procurement without adequate information about what the work is worth, how much consultants should be paid, and whether alternative sources have been seriously considered, advance payments have been made, and payments made without anything being delivered. Construction projects have been left incomplete, unnecessary cost overruns have been tolerated and extravagant sums paid through change orders."

"It is conservative to say that millions and millions of dollars have been unnecessarily spent when the money was not available, sometimes with little to show for it," he added.

In its report on the implementation of audit recommendations, OPA sought the assistance of the Interagency Audit Coordinating Advisory Group in enforcing compliance from the agencies with the recommendations. The report noted that delinquent recommendations increased to 126 as of March 1998 from 35 as of June 1997, some of which dates back to 1994.

Download Annual Report (704KB)
Download Report on CNMI Agencies' Implementation of Audit Recommendations (350KB).

N O T I C E

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