Hasard du calendrier. Le rapport de l’Audit de l’an financier 2019-2020, avec son lot habituel de critiques et de recommandations, est déposé alors que le gouvernement est soumis à un feu roulant de questions relatives à la seconde vague de Covid-19, à la campagne de vaccination et la fin du reconfinement.

Mais au vu de la suffisance démontrée par le gouvernement, au Parlement hier, et le message subliminal du PM par rapport au déconfinement, hier soir sur la MBC, il est clair que les leçons de la première vague, dont certaines sont soulignées dans le sévère rapport de C. Romooah, seront occultées, et rangées dans les oubliettes, comme le sont pratiquement tous les rapports de l’Audit. Un gaspillage en soi !

Pourtant C. Romooah, ancien Accountant General, n’est pas né de la dernière pluie ! Il connaît le circuit de chaque roupie de l’argent public qui est dépensée. Et ce gouvernement, s’il veut faire oublier les Emergency Procurements (EP) de sinister mémoire qui ont marqué les esprits — (car liés à l’assassinat de Soopramanien Kistnen) —, a tout intérêt à lire et assimilier ce qu’il prend la peine d’écrire sur le ministère de la Santé du Dr Kailesh Jagutpal : «60 ventilators were acquired for some Rs 94 million for which no benefits have yet been derived. 50 of these ventilators were acquired from a foreign company which had never supplied any medical equipment to the Ministry. Medical disposables were purchased from companies which had no previous dealings with the Ministry in such goods. There was a significant increase in the price quoted, ranging from 15 per cent to 3,300 per cent for the 37 drugs procured under the EP exercise.»

Par rapport au ministère du Commerce, alors géré par Yogida Sawmynaden, le directeur de l’Audit observe : «The Ministry did not record any proceedings in respect of choice of suppliers and assessment of the reasonableness of prices quoted by them. Interest of Government was not adequately safeguarded since advance payments of the full contract value were effected to the suppliers before delivery of the items (…) Clause for late delivery was not included as a condition in the Letter of Acceptance issued to the supplier and therefore was not applicable. Such a material omission of liquidated damages clause which acts as a deterrent for late delivery, defeats the very purpose of supply of medical items during the emergency where time is of essence.»

Mais les abus et passe-droits liés au Covid-19 touchent d’autres ministères et corps paprapublics, comme si c’était un crime organisé, à plusieurs échelons. «EP procedures for the selection of service providers for the quarantine services were not transparent. The list of hotels retained to serve as Quarantine Centres included some which were not members of the Association of Restaurants and Hotels in Mauritius. Two caterers that served the Quarantine Centres were not registered as supplier of catering service with the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (…) The lack of monitoring in the midst of the crisis has resulted in some Rs 94 million paid for defective ventilators, and Rs 853.7 million for medical disposables purchased from companies which had no history of providing medical products to Government, and abnormally high prices being paid by the MOH (up to 67 times higher than the last price paid for medical disposables by the Ministry).»

Et au Directeur de l’Audit de mettre l’accent sur la plaie: «...contracts awarded during the COVID-19 pandemic were effected in exceptional circumstances, but it remains essential that decisions are properly documented and made transparent if government is to maintain public trust that taxpayers’ money is being spent appropriately and fairly. » Tout est dit, ici.

Et, prévoyant, le directeur de l’Audit recommande, pour les prochaines transactions, en cas de lockdown :

- To seek quotes from suppliers in a transparent manner, for instance by inviting potential suppliers openly through the media.

-To post details of bids, such as the names of bidders and their quotes on the website of the government.

-To publish, through government website or otherwise, the name of the supplier selected and the basis thereof.

Saura-t-on écouter M. C. Romooah cette fois-ci ?

D’autant que nous avons un déséquilibre budgétaire inquiétant alors que le Dr Ranganaden Padayachy s’apprête a présenter le Budget national 2021-2022 en pleine récession. «Government expenditure in 2019-20 totalled Rs 189.6 billion compared to an original appropriation of Rs 178.8 billion (…) As for revenue, the total amount collected was Rs 103.9 billion compared to the original estimate of Rs 121.7 billion (…) Public Sector Debt (PSD) has increased from Rs 320.6 billion as at 30 June 2019 to Rs 381.8 billion as at 30 June 2020, representing an increase of 19 per cent. PSD as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has increased from 65.3 per cent (gross basis) to 83.4 per cent (gross basis).The Public Debt Management Act was amended through the COVID-19 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 to provide for the removal of the PSD ceiling of 65 per cent of GDP.»

C’est nous qui avons choisi de souligner la dernière phrase du paragraphe précédent…dans une tentative d’aider le Directeur de l’Audit à faire passer son message, message qui devrait aussi être celui de la plupart de ceux qui défendent le bien-commun dans la durée – et non pas le temps d’un mandat ou deux...