The Singapore government should conduct a review following the unprecedented scale and complexity of spending on goods and services to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) watchdog, made up of eight MPs, urged the review because $72.3bn of the spending had so far escaped audit.
Parliamentarians said the government should ensure it recovers any money lost due to hurried pandemic procurement.
Foo Mee Har, chair of the PAC, said: “It is important that the government conducts a comprehensive review on the $72.3bn Covid-19 expenditure spent in financial years 2020 and 2021 that was not covered in AGO’s [Auditor General’s Office] audits.
“Given that the government’s Covid-19 operations were unprecedented in intensity, complexity and scale, checks should be conducted to ensure transactions were bona fide and that there was no erroneous payment.”
She said the government should also ensure that emergency procurement control measures are appropriate for future emergencies.
And the committee warned that as the government shifted from an emergency procurement model to a new normal it should make sure services do not fall below pre-pandemic levels.
Last July the AGO audited Covid-19-related procurement and expenditure by the Health Promotion Board (HPB), the Singapore Land Authority and the Ministry of Manpower.
And while audits broadly recognised that the agencies had good measures in place for emergency procurement, it criticised the HPB for gaps in record-keeping and administrative oversights.
The AGO said the urgent need to expand testing capacity during the pandemic meant formal written agreements were not prioritised.
Prior to the audit the HPB itself said it found 868 cases with overpayments worth $1.6m. It had secured full repayment in more than two-thirds of cases, accounting for more than $1m.
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