Govt contractors are inflating invoices for profit: report

Road construction in Chin State: Photo: Jacob Goldberg
Road construction in Chin State: Photo: Jacob Goldberg

Companies contracted to execute government projects are deliberately inflating their invoices for profit, the Public Accounts Joint Committee said in a report to parliament on March 6.

The committee analyzed the invoices submitted by companies to various government departments and found that they lacked standard measurements and quality guarantees, and they listed material costs that were above market rates.

The committee’s report says some developers added “five percent contingency fees” and “10 percent contractor profits” to their invoices, Eleven reported yesterday.

Luckily, these scams are easily avoided. The report says the Magway Region government scrutinized pending projects before approving them and was able to cut Ks 10 billion (US$7.3 million) in extraneous expenses from its 2016-17 budget.

The Magway Region Roads Department was able to further cut expenses by opening competitive tenders and using imported tar.

The committee recommended a commonsense solution: calculate expenses based on market prices and to inspect the quality of development projects.

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