Performance Audit Saint Catherine Municipal Corporation

Performance Audit Report Saint Catherine Municipal Corporation (SCMC) July 2020

Jamaicas Road Network

Objectives of the Audit The audit was conducted to determine whether the SCMC had in place an effective and efficient management system . The audit also assessed whether value for money would be achieved for the funds spent on the rehabilitation and maintenance of parochial roads.

What we found

Disbursement from the Parochial Revenue Fund SCMC expended $2.013 billion from the Parochial Revenue Fund over the period 2014 2019, to carry out works on parochial roads.

Strategic Management No strategic, operational and procurement plans developed for the last five-years, to guide parochial road repairs and maintenance. With no established service standards and KPIs, SCMC had no basis to determine performance.

Strategic Management The input of the public was not sought in determining the strategic direction of the corporation and the prioritization of limited resources. SCMC did not provide adequate oversight & performance monitoring for road works No procurement plans prepared to guide alignment of task with budget.

Roads Management SCMC did not know the full extent of the network and condition of the roads and did not have a transparent process of determining works to be carried out under various programmes.

Roads Management No evidence that SCMC prioritize road maintenance, based on established criteria. No comprehensive inventory of roads to inform road maintenance and rehabilitation works and appropriately prioritize the use of limited resources. Description of the type of works represents routine maintenance activities; which made it difficult to verify whether the works warranted the classification of emergency . .

SCMC did not have a transparent process of determining works to be carried out under the Roadsin the Parish, Divisional Allocation and Lengthman Programmes

Contracts Management Deficiencies in record keeping limited verification of contract activities and the justification of funds expended from the Parochial Revenue Fund (PRF).

Contracts Management Limited information regarding SCMC contract activities and the absence of a contract register. In 11 instances totalling $15.4 million, SCMC permitted the commencement of works before agreements were signed . SCMC did not provide a justification for the threshold for material testing of $10M and below, which resulted in the majority of works not subject to test.

Conclusion SCMC did not demonstrate that it undertook a robust process to ensure that the most suitable roads were selected for rehabilitation/maintenance. We expected that SCMC s selection of roads, by whatever mechanism, would be informed by the purpose and needs of the community and the economic impact of road rehabilitation.

What should be done

Ministry of Local Government and Community Development (MLGCD) should enforce mandatory submission by SCMC of strategic plans Dynamic inventory system to assist in providing an up-to- date list of parochial roads

Procurement process should be redesigned. Strengthen internal controls to reduce risk of misstatement or inaccurate financial records

A better Country through effective audit scrutiny