Inspections on public expenditure save millions, Audit Bureau reports

AMMAN — The Audit Bureau's measures to protect public money saved the state JD37.9 million in 2015, according to the bureau's 64th report.

The recently released report cited a decrease in public spending from JD1.71 billion in 2013 to JD1.66 billion in 2014, registering a 3 per cent drop.

According to the report, 216 public money violation lawsuits, valued at nearly JD2 million, were filed in 2015, most of which involved forgery of official papers and bad checks.

In addition, a total of 3,531 executive lawsuits with dues amounting to around JD11 million were filed, but only 9 per cent of dues were collected.

As for reduction in public spending, the bureau conducted throughout the said year 40 inspection campaigns, in cooperation with the Public Security Department, on the use of government vehicles for non-official business. The inspectors documented 778 violations in that regard.

In most cases, official vehicle misuse involved the use of the vehicles for personal purposes outside official working hours. Institutions with most violations were the Greater Amman Municipality and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.

In addition to public agencies and independent government units, the report inspected, mixing reviews of accounts and unannounced visits, companies and institutions where the government owns a 50 per cent or more stakes.