KUALA LUMPUR: The Works Ministry has been urged to blacklist consultants and contractors involved in the Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismaill’s upgrade project.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said this was due to their negligence and failure to complete the upgrading work on time which resulted in unaccounted losses.
The proposal to blacklist negotiators and contractors was among the recommendations made by the PAC, following a working visit by chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin to the hospital in Batu Pahat, Johor on Oct 2.
According to the PAC, the contractors and consultants appointed to government projects, particularly health facilities, must be chosen based on its financial and technical capabilities.
The PAC also said that the government must re-evaluate its methods in appointing and paying consultants in order to ensure check and balance.
The committee also wanted the Works Ministry to file a report on negligence by the contractor and the consultant to the professional board.
At the same time, the PAC, in its findings, said that the Public Works Department should have scrutinised the weaknesses in the design of the upgrade project.
“Although this project was carried out by direct negotiations, the department should have scrutinized the weaknesses in several design components of the project which were found to be unsuitable and not up to the standards of the hospital.”
Meanwhile, the PAC also called on the Health Ministry to ensure that it constantly monitors works conducted by concessionaire companies, following a report by the PAC on the Facility Engineering Maintenance Services (FEMS).
“The Health Ministry must conduct stringent monitoring on works conducted by concessionaires before verifying payment claims on every hospital across the country.
“Concessionaire companies must have integrity in filing payment claims to the Health Ministry," it said.
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