KOTA KINABALU: The audit on managing of ports privatisation here found it to be satisfactory as the concession company, Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd, was able to inject a capital totaling RM809.77 million for upgrading as well as providing infrastructure and ports equipment.
This is for the period of 2004 to 2016 and surpassed the targetted RM783.76 million, according to the Auditor General’s Report 2016 in its audit for Sabah Ports Authority's (SPA) management activities of its seven ports.
“The concession company was also able to clear all payments as determined in the port privatisation agreement.
“However, there were some weaknesses including a capital injection of RM163.67 million for this period was not included under the agreement or referred to the state government or Sabah Ports Authority (SPA) for approval.
“To improve management and monitoring, it is recommended that SPA ensured the figure mentioned (RM163.67 million) for infrastructure expenses and purchase of port equipments be referred to the state government or state Infrastructure Development Ministry to find a solution and avoid any disputes in future,” the Report said.
It was also recommended that SPA form a special committee with scheduled meetings to discuss annual financial statements and port statistics reports to improve the port services and the agreement conditions met.
Meanwhile, in its audit for Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), the Report said the revenue collection from bird nest harvesting activities is not satisfactory and not properly maintained where there are still arrears of RM28.29 million from 2000 to May this year involving 12 contractors.
“This has caused the state government losses in revenue and could not make use of the said revenue.
“It was recommended that SWD prepare a comprehensive work procedure manual on harvesting activities so that revenue can be fully collected and the payments by contractors can be settled in the stipulated time,” the Report stated.
On the audit done on Sabah Welfare Services Department, it found that the management of the General Assistance Scheme (SBAM) was satisfactory in terms of allocation distribution, application approvals based on quotas and monitoring by headquarters at district welfare offices.
However, one of the things that needed to be looked into included the limited SBAM allocation as less than 50 percent of quotas were approved for 2015 and 2016 despite higher number of qualified applicants.
It is recommended that the Department review the quota stated so it would reach more qualified recipients, the Report added.