Audit of USAID/Bolivia"s procurement function

The audit, which is based on document review and interviews with Mission and host country personnel, was originally conducted as part of a 2/86 review of reactivated USAID/B projects - Rural Education II, Rural Sanitation Agricultural Sector II, and Disaster Recovery - but its findings were withheld pending resolution of a concurrent criminal investigation by the Inspector General of USAID/B"s procurement actions. Due to serious deficiencies in internal Mission controls, procurement actions did not always follow A.I.D. regulations. Competition for contracts was occasionally curtailed to the detriment of A.I.D."s best interests, and unreasonably high prices were paid in certain cases. USAID/B had split purchases in order to avoid the need to advertise for competitive offers, and had failed to adequately disseminate requests for price quotations, verify vendor price quotations, prepare procurement plans, separate two distinct procurement functions (identifying requirements and ordering materials), and adequately train procurement personnel. As a result, about $115,000 was spent unnecessarily for commodities in the projects reviewed. A recommendation that these deficiencies be corrected and that procurement be made the responsibility of the Mission Executive Officer instead of the Project Development and Implementation Officer has been implemented by the Mission and is considered closed.