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| Ikechukwu Iroha writes from Ohafia |
KPMG process review and the associated gullibility of many reviewers
I have taken my time to look at the report published by Abia State government and also the reviews by some interested parties.
Let me start by saying that I wholeheartedly support that whoever stole or steal public fund must be brought to book.
To the issues;
Firstly, payments to companies for contracts are normal transactions in both private and public sectors. No Fraud can be said to have happened when companies are funded for their services. Citizens have a role in fighting corruption by making sure those contracts paid for were properly executed.
A process review is not indicting until further investigation on the authenticity or veracity of the transactions are conducted with clear report on areas where fraud was either detected or alleged to have happened. A process audit is a structured review of an organization's processes to identify where improvements can be made. Process audits can help organizations improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations by identifying areas where improvements are needed.
It is not ideal to publish list of contractors and sums to the gullible public with pictures of their CEOs. It subjects the owners to media brutality unjustly.
To the issue of a company being inactive at CAC.That ordinarily shouldn't be up for discussion if we understand what inactive means as regards CAC registrations.
I have handled such case severally. Until this year's April when CAC threatened to deregister companies for failure to file their annual returns, many companies fell short of the demands from Corporate affairs and therefore their data was inactive.However, there was no punitive action until late last year when CAC circulated a circular in that regard..I personally updated many companies that I handled their Taxation, Audit, ITF and Pencom when it became difficult to link same to Bureau of public procurement which is a prerequisite for getting award letters from Federal Government establishments. Because State governments hardly demand for BPP and many other compliance documents, those who do State Contracts usually pay less attention to annual returns.
Failure to pay that #10k yearly wasn't because a company is not liquid enough but some did not engage professionals who know all these and many also ignored it because it didn't have any punitive damage until April this year.
The last company I paid for their annual return was for 12 years while the company was doing all necessary papers and handling legitmate government contracts even though it never filed annual returns for the last 12 years . I insisted they pay, I went ahead to share CAC memo to the management.
What KPMG did was a process review. It shows government income and expenditure for 8 years. To the best of my knowledge, no one was indicted in that review because it didn't conduct any investigation but only recorded what transpired in govt. KPMG made this clearly.
For instance, a certain company was awarded a contract of #11b with names of roads attached, what citizens should do is to find out if those roads exist anywhere or any work happened on those projects..I have come across a platform owned by a Nigerian citizen Trackng.com. The monitor and report progress of projects as well as monetary value for works done.
In Abia, drama has taken center stage.If trackcare or tunnelend got contracts and executed them, the date of incorporation becomes irrelevant. I will as a citizen be more interested in their output.
Rock Results company, the company that rehabilitated Emelogu road in Aba under Governor Otti was incorporated in 2017. Mazi Otti's government is their first test of construction work. The company is owned by a University of Port Harcourt graduate of English, from Isiagu in Ebonyi State. No one knows the cost and when bidding was done on the projects he handled and is handling in Abia.
I think we need to cure gullibility first before moving forward in Abia..
Mr A got contracts to supply streetlight poles at #600m. First, did he deliver? If the answer is yes, then no fraud detected. The report of KPMG did not provide the answers that is what made it a process review.
An audit ends with either a qualified or unqualified opinion amongst other opinions with recommendations. A process review is majorly an income and expenditure statement.
Craneburg construction belonging to Late Wigwe's was used to borrow #50b for various roads in Abia under 11 months while other non-Abia companies are being credited with billions for road projects and other construction works without open bidding. I think the trend needs to stop forthwith.
This is for proper understanding. A contractor is only fraudulent if contracts given were either not executed or executed below contract term agreements.
You can fight your personal fights or political fights, it's idiocy to publish faces of contractors for projects they got legitimate contracts for.
In Abuja, I know many Igbo men that are doing contracts worth billions because they won bidding. Tunnel end is handling Asokoro internal roads and other areas in Abuja. If someone publishes the amount and the face, people who don't know the terms or scope will ask you to stone him.Thats idiocy of the highest order..
Ikechukwu Iroha writes from Ohafia
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