Baghdad – IA
Today, Tuesday, the Federal Integrity Commission announced the implementation of operations to control cases of waste of public money worth 34 billion dinars, exaggeration of purchase prices, manipulation, forgery, and violations in the water, roads, and bridges directorates, municipalities, and the health department in Dhi Qar Governorate.
The Authority’s Investigation Department said in a statement received by the (INA): “The work team of the Dhi Qar Investigation Office revealed that the Governorate’s Water Directorate had not collected the fees for previous subscriptions and debts for the years (2020-2023), in addition to not taking legal measures against those who delayed paying. Subscriptions for the residential and commercial sectors, which led to the waste of an amount of (34,197,002,494) dinars,” indicating that “(148) purchase transactions were seized in the Water Directorate that were promoted during the year 2022 after a member of the Purchasing Committee took advantage of his work and referred the purchase and equipment to the shop belonging to his father.” While irregularities were observed in the kerosene drainage documents in the Nasiriyah Water Project, after it became clear that the drainage process had been carried out in violation of the law.
As for the Directorate of Roads and Bridges, the department stated that “the report of the External Audit Division and the report of the assigned expert revealed that the work of the project to construct rural roads in Al-Douaya district did not comply with the technical specifications, noting that the cost of the project implemented by a private company amounted to (1,124,385,000) dinars,” noting, “The team revealed an exaggeration in the prices of purchasing artificial respirators for the isolation wards for the Corona pandemic in Al-Hussein Teaching and Shatra Hospitals.”
She pointed out “the purchase of devices for the amount of (657,000,000) dinars, which were later proven not to comply with the technical specifications, in addition to being of unreliable origin,” noting that “there was tampering and inconsistency between the purchase receipts and the records of receipt of the purchase of medical supplies worth (6,797,850) million dinars in the health department.” Dhi Qar.
At Al-Rifai Hospital, the department confirmed that “violations were committed by contracting with an office to carry out hospital cleaning work for an amount of (48,000,000) dinars without bringing offers, or the hospital relying on its capabilities.”
In the Nasiriyah Municipality Directorate, the department explained that “an employee in the Property Division was arrested for submitting (182) land ownership transactions and a property record to the Real Estate Registration Directorate in the governorate, despite the expiration of his authorization, in addition to the fact that most of the ownership books were forged,” confirming, “The arrest More than (500) transactions and seals belonging to the municipality, ownership books, inquiries, and requests for copies of registration records and blank ownership forms in the accused’s personal car.”
She pointed out that “there has been tampering with the payrolls and records of attendance and departure of employees working in the parks department in the municipality of Nasiriyah for the months (June – July – August – September 2023),” warning that “there are fictitious names and others for employees on the permanent staff and wage earners who share the salary with one of the municipal engineers.” In exchange for their non-compliance with working hours, the team observed tampering and exaggeration of the goods in the Sukkar Castle Municipality warehouse, where tires and batteries were purchased for an amount of (23,561,000) dinars.