The Office of the Attorney General is reviewing a case on alleged abuse of power by two former ministers from the previous government for awarding contract directly to a contractor. The office received the case from the Anti-Corruption Commission about a week ago. Since the case is under review, the office did not share any details. Meanwhile, the People’s Democratic Party said the former ministers did not abuse power or violate procurement rules.
The accused ministers are Dorji Choden, the former minister of the erstwhile works and human settlement ministry, and Namgay Dorji, the former finance minister.
The ministers said that a contractor was carrying out road widening works in Trongsa in 2015.
They said that the contract period was for a year but after five months, the contractor faced difficulty in widening the road due to rugged terrain at Dzongkhalum.
By that time, 30 per cent of the work was completed.
“The rugged terrain stretched around 500 metres. The road widening work was further hampered by the monsoon. We could not blast the rocks since they posed a danger to the settlements of the Mangdechhu Hydropower Project. Furthermore, since commuters travelled daily, it was risky for them,” said Dorji Choden, a former minister.
“It is in accordance with the procurement rules and regulations of 2019. The finance ministry approved the direct award of work for pavement construction. It had also posed risks to human safety and risks of economic loss to the Mangdechhu Hydropower Project,” said Namgay Dorji, also a former minister.
According to the ministers, since the Dzongkhalum work was deemed risky, the contract was surrendered on mutual understanding between the government and the contractor.
The ministers added that in place of the surrendered work at Dzongkhalum, the contractor was given contract to construct pavements of around three kilometres from Nobding to Dungdung Nyelsa in Wangdue Phodrang.
The issue came into the limelight in the Annual Audit Report 2019.
According to the report, the erstwhile Department of Roads directly gave construction of pavements from Nobding to Dungdung Nyelsa to the contractor resulting in financial implications for the government.
The report states that this violates the procurement rules.
According to the report, the Ministry of Finance had approved the direct award of work for the pavement construction, based on a proposal submitted by the works and human settlement minister.
Meanwhile, the ministers added that additional works carried out by the contractor for the package in Trongsa were not highlighted in the audit report.
BBS contacted the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Royal Audit Authority, but they did not share any information regarding the case.
Tashi Yangden
Edited by Tshering Zam
