PUBLIC MONEYS LOST

Chronicle (Levin), 2 August 1946, Page 5

PUBLIC MONEYS LOST

-Press Association

Inefficiency Disclosed AUDITOR GENERAL'S REPORT

By Telegraph-

WELLINGTON, ,Aug. 1. Eight eases of misappropriation of public nioneys by departmental ofiicers, involving the sum of £318 17s 6d, are recorded in the report of the ControlLei and 'Ayditor-General for the iiiiancial year ended March 31 last, whieh was presented to the House of Representatives today. Phe report -states that in addition to, these eases, an officer of the Social Becurity Department frauduleiitly obtained siekness b?n?fits to'the value oi £1026 4s- lOd. He raised iictitious records Avhicli resulted in warrants being prepared and forwarde.d .to adr. dresses where he was able to uplifl them and cash them through the post office. The department reexamined its sysfem of recording, investigation and authorisation of benefits, and control in j the jireparation and issue of postal warrauts, and instituted furthCr safe ; guards with a v'iew to preventing fur- ' ther losses. j The instanees reported, apart from the Bocial Becurity Department loss, did (not xioint to remediable weaknesses in ] accounting procedure in the depart- ! ments eoncerned. i The number of eases reported to' the 'Audit Office, in which recipients of Ijjensions, sustenance, age and other benefits, obtained payment in excess of jscale rates by failing to disclose ma-. 1 terial particulars of their circumstances I to the Bocial Becurity Department, was ]232 against 116 for the previous year, ! the relative amounts involved being £5061 18s 2d and £1946 ls 9d. The Audit Office recently drew the attention of the Ministry of Bupply to the accoiints of some dozen debtors on !the boolts, whose balances totalliug some £256,000, had been long outstaiul jing pending a settlement of disputeS 01 j negotiations. During the wai* period advances were made by the Ministry to'eertuin com panies or their jiroperties were im qiroved for the purpose. of increasing the {production of leather but results achieved fell far short of estimates. The extension of equipment of one company cost some £40,000 but 110 ad ditional hilles were tanneil and as wai* time improvements p ro ved surplus to 'peacetime requiremeiits, they had re centlv been sold to tho company for £12.500. j I11 another ease a bank overdraft up | Ito £24,000 was guaranleod for the pur | j pose of ])urchasing and tanning hilles! (receipts to be set off against this) and the company 's business was extended at ja cost of '£4150. The venture was not 1 suecessful and tlie t'rowu was obliged to pay the bank £23,000 in March, 1945. Some £80,000 was expendeil in conInectioTi with three other tanners but I th e ultimate financial results had not yet heen ascertained. Revievving* vvartime stores accounting in the armed forces, the report states that in view of the many ililficulti.es 1 of staHing, accommodatiou and other. problems which the services had to face, the Audit Office believed some | confusion was inevitable. Nevertheless, j it was of opinion the position could j have been improveil very materially had it been attacked in real earnest. { Much of the trouble was caused througii ! bad paper work yet, with many clerks j in the ranks to call ujion, the selectioa 1 of suitalile personnel for this class of work should have heen possible. An- I other cause of trouble was the constatd , clianging of office and stores personnel with consequent loss of efficiency and sense of responsibilitv. It appeared too, that liot all quartermasters and equipment officers possessed the necessary standard of efficiency or were sufficiently interested in their johs, Iml apparently they could not. be disrated except as the result of a most formal and lengthv inquiry.