Govt paid RM56.36 mil for improper cleaning services

Improper payments of RM56.36 million were made to cleaning services concessionaires last year.

According to the Auditor-General's Report 2014 Series Three, the payments included claims for services not covered in the concessionaires’ agreements with the government.

"The concessionaires for public cleaning services did not carry out the cleaning of drains, sumps and public markets properly and were paid for improper claims last year.

"Between September 2012 and December 2014, improper payments to the concessionaire reached RM116.72 million," the report said.

It also said that until December last year, local authorities owed RM326.11 million to SWCorp, a government agency handling cleaning services contracts.

The report also revealed that the inventory difference of 20.67 million metres in street cleaning between the concessionaires and SWCorp.

"As a result, enforcement officers were overloaded with work, with an officer forced to monitor an average of 6,905 premises, 60,809 square metres of grass areas, 21,858 metres of road and 77,911 metres of drains.

"The figures were based on the frequency of the concessionaire companies’ service schedules," it said.