A Public Accounts Committee meeting was cancelled on Tuesday, after executive chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando did not turn up for the grilling of his own council's public accounts.
The Malta Council for Science and Technology came under the microscope of the National Audit Office for not keeping any attendance records of its employees.
At the start of the session, Opposition MP George Pullicino said that the PAC meeting was originally scheduled to be held on Monday but was postponed because Pullicino Orlando had been abroad.
But Pullicino Orlando did not turn up on Tuesday, and instead MCST official Mario Borg went for the meeting.
Justice Minister Owen Bonnici argued that questions meant for Dr Pullicino Orlando should be asked to Mr Borg, but Opposition MPs George Pullicino and Tonio Fenech refused.
"I want to ask questions specifically to the executive chairman, and the committee should have been advised that he wasn't going to attend," Mr Fenech said, before calling for the meeting to be suspended.
The NAO report said that payroll testing of the 10 officers sampled revealed various mistakes. Other concerns, such as lack of supporting evidence to substantiate decisions affecting salary payments and divergence from approvals, were also noted.
The National Audit Office also reported that although the contract of a high ranking officer specified an entitlement of free fuel up to 150 litres per month, this was being paid as a monthly constant cash allowance instead, amounting in total to €2,484 annually. It did not say who the high ranking officer is.
Besides this fuel entitlement, the financial package also included an annual car allowance of €4,193. "This was an anomaly considering the fact that, in line with general Government practices, the award of a car allowance is a comprehensive compensation for waiving the entitlement of a fully expensed car, which also comprises the consumption of fuel, and thus any further related allowance is precluded as it is considered as constituting a double payment of the same benefit," the office said.
It said it had noted shortcomings with respect to overtime, adding that total compensation for overtime worked during 2014 amounted to €20,157, the majority of which, totalling €16,084, was paid to five officials.
The audit also revealed instances where payments to employees were either unauthorised, not properly supported by evidence or inaccurate.
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