State committee for the elderly with a €4 million budget consistently failed to keep track of spending

A committee responsible for administering funds for the benefit of elderly residents in state-owned homes was yet again caught mismanaging a €4 million budget, with past audits further exposing how this committee continuously fails to adhere to basic public procurement regulations.

According to the National Audit Office (NAO), the Welfare Committee’s internal controls were “characterised by major shortcomings in the procurement processes and the absence of related agreements, as well as instances of non-compliance with the regulations.”

Last year, the NAO issued dire warnings about the state of this committee’s finances, lamenting that it wasn’t even able to adequately test its financial records due to “an extreme case of incomplete records”.

The same issues seem to persist today, with the state’s auditors finding multiple examples of poor spending control.

One such instance involved the procurement of incontinence items (like adult diapers, for example) through an agreement which had expired over a decade earlier. In 2024, €2.3 million was disbursed on such items, all obtained via direct order.

“Following expiry of this contract, the committee made various attempts to issue tenders; however, these were either cancelled, or the award was rejected by the bidders due to delays in its evaluation process and eventually rising costs,” the State’s auditors noted.

Another unnamed service provider was paid €890,000 to transport elderly care residents for daily outings and/or clinical appointments, all via direct order, without any approval from the finance ministry. Another transport operator was paid an additional €200,000 in the same manner.

The Welfare Committee also failed to keep track of over €80,000 in transport lease costs related to two vans and five vehicles used for the benefit of elderly care home residents, with the NAO noting that “none” of these leases were covered by an agreement.

State auditors could not trace any documentation outlining the rates the Welfare Committee was charged for transport services, and there was no evidence that the appropriate amounts were paid for the service when it was provided.

“The rates charged, which ranged from €20 to €400 per trip, were not even substantiated by other official documentation. Furthermore, the Welfare Committee had no records confirming the transport being requested and the trips being charged,” auditors noted, describing this issue as symptomatic of the Committee’s lack of centralised decision making.

Accurate headcounts of the total number of elderly residents residing in the various state-owned homes in Malta and Gozo were also unavailable, rendering it practically impossible for the Welfare Committee to reconcile the total number of items procured with the actual number of residents.