The Auditor General of Québec issues the conclusions of her audit concerning the management by the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation of contracts presenting risk situations - Press Release no. 6

QUÉBEC, May 27, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, Ms. Guylaine Leclerc makes public the report entitled Value-for-Money Audit (Spring 2015). In Chapter 6, she makes known the results from her work at the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation (MAPAQ).

The information provided to the Deputy Minister is insufficient. The information the Deputy Minister relies on does not allow him to perform his contract management role. No information useful for analyzing the contracting process or for identifying problematic situations is shared with him.

The mutual solicitation method is often used by the MAPAQ. The assessment done to determine whether a natural person operates a sole proprietorship lacks rigour. In addition, contrary to what is provided for in its directive, the MAPAQ used the mutual solicitation method for all files of this type that we audited whose total exceeded the threshold for invitations to tenders.

The results are worrying with regard to the call for tender process and the management of information technology contracts. Deficiencies were found with regard to the honest and fair treatment of competitors, transparency, reporting and good use of public funds. Among other things, about $3.8 million was paid to the main supplier for a computer system that was abandoned at the start of its development. This represents over 50 % of the $7.2 million allocated to complete the project.

There is a lack of rigour in authorizing payments. Differences were noted between what was paid and the terms provided for in the contract. The amounts billed and the billing periods differed from what was provided for.

The MAPAQ does not always publish in the electronic call for tenders system the information required by the regulation. It is often published late and contains inaccuracies. In addition, the information sent to the Conseil du trésor is incomplete and inaccurate in some regards.

The Highlights are available at www.vgq.qc.ca. The full report is only available in French.

Source:

Lucie Roy, Director Cabinet, communications et affaires stratégiques Auditor General of Québec Tel.: [phone]

SOURCE Vérificateur Général du Québec

Lucie Roy, Director, Cabinet, communications et affaires stratégiques, Auditor General of Québec, Tel.: [phone]