The Ministry of Culture approved investments with fragmentary documentations
Press Release – January 17, 2008
Auditors from the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) focused on state budget funds earmarked for the Programme for reproduction of fiscal assets, which had been implemented by the Ministry of Culture. Especially the ministry's administration of the programme showed a number of serious insufficiencies.
"The ministry did not set immediate goals, technical-economic limitations, or financial terms of the programme projects. Nobody set criteria, limitations, or other specifications for placing the projects or for scheme selections. Thus, the projects failed conditions needed for passing judgments on efficiency and effectiveness of the management with state budget funds,“ said František Dohnal, president of the SAO.
The Ministry of Culture approved propositions with incomplete documentations or understated investment projects and authorized additional re-adjustment of the drafts without comments as well. Consequently, the requirements to the state budget levelled up and realisation of the programme was accompanied by a large number of buildings under construction, by cost-increases, and by delaying of contract terms.
Among other imperfections, Dohnal cited the additional re-projecting of the reconstruction of the Brno City Theatre in 2003 and 2004, which increased the original budget estimate with over CZK 144 million. The internal auditing of the ministry consisted in scarce attendances of ministry's representatives at construction sites – only when the problems of financing, auxiliary work, and changes of project parameters became burning issues. The Ministry of Culture and several grant recipients missed out on documents that would verify certain facts.
"The programme had already been audited in the operation No. 99/37 – State budget funds earmarked for the Ministry of Culture for acquiring and reproducing the fiscal assets in libraries, museums, galleries, and theatres. Finding such repeated imperfections, we can conclude that the previously taken steps went astray,“ said Dohnal.
The auditing operation was included into the 2007 Audit Plan of the SAO under No. 07/10. Antonín Macháček, Member of the SAO Board, controlled the operation and drew up the audit report as well.
Radka Burketová
Press Speaker
Supreme Audit Office