The financial situations of the Office of the People’s Ombudsperson provide a real picture of the non-financial and financial situation of the institution on December 31, 2017, shows the audit report presented by the Court of Auditors in a public meeting on June 19, IPN reports.

The audit team said the auditors  were limited in obtaining sufficient evidence of the institution’s participation in technical assistance projects financed by an international organization. It was determined that the financial resources earmarked for purchasing goods haven’t been used during many years.

The Office of the People’s Ombudsperson in 2017 managed allocations of 10.8 million lei. Of these, 10.4  million lei represented state budget allocations, while 0.4 million lei were sources from donations made by the development partners. The balance of unused funds at the end of last year came to 0.7 million lei. The Office administered non-financial assets totaling 16.8 million lei.

The auditors established that the equipment bought in 2014 for laying out the conference hall of the Office of the People’s Ombudsperson, to the value of 729,900 lei, hasn’t been yet used, being kept in the storehouse.

In 2016, based on an agreement to share the costs associated with a project signed by the Office of the People’s Ombudsperson and an international organization, the latter transferred a contribution of 356,800 lei, but the money has been immobilized and is indicated in the entity’s accounting records as arrears.

The auditors also said that 600,000 lei was allocated for purchasing a head office for the branch in Comrat in 2017. As there were submitted no bids, the tender contest was annulled. The working group for procurement of the Office of the People’s Ombudsperson decided to redirect the allocations for buying two vehicles. Later, in order to avoid purchases through procurement, the Office on November 3, 2017 signed a bilateral agreement with an international organization and transferred 900,000 lei for buying the vehicles as a contribution to implementing a project. At the end of 2017, this amount was indicated as arrears.

People’s Ombudsman Mihai Cotorobai said many of these deficiencies were inherited. These and other problems could be dealt with, but not in the conditions in which this institution works now. The building is damaged and the 65 employees needed to perform the basic activities of the Offices cannot be accommodated. Also, the unsatisfactory remuneration does not enable to employ highly-qualified jurists.