The SAO audited finances allotted for the organisation of the 2009 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec
Press Release – February 12, 2009
From October to November 2008, auditors from the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) focused on the state budget finances (over CZK 1,000 million), which had been allotted for the organisation of the 2009 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (2009 WSC) in Liberec. The audited period extended from 2006 to 2007 and the audited bodies were the Statutory City of Liberec and the Technical University of Liberec.
“The audit fell 5 months behind the working schedule as the audited bodies supplied the auditors with incomplete and inaccurate information, which needed reconsiderations. The Technical University of Liberec did not posses the demanded documents and the auditors had to beg for them from a mandatory who often missed the producing terms or failed to reach the required extents“, said president of the SAO František Dohnal.
In 2004, the Ministry of Education insisted that no subsidies from the state budget would be needed. However, the Ministry repeatedly asked for an increasing financial support in the following years. As for the end of October 2008, the state budget finances that were allotted for the organisation of the 2009 WSC reached over CZK 1.6 milliard.
The Ministry initiated funding of the programme entitled “Podpora rozvoje a obnovy materiálně technické základny pro pořádání MS v klasickém lyžování v roce 2009 v ČR” (Development and reconstruction of the material and technical bases of the 2009 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships organization), in spite the whole range of the investments had not been defined. The individual investment ventures were not ready for the realization stadium. Within the Programme’s implementation stage, some of the projects were combined with others and new investments were included into the Programme.
During the implementation process, the Ministry adjusted several technical parameters of the projects in spite the demands of the Statutory City of Liberec were ill-founded. In cases of the works’ reductions the estimated total costs and amounts of allotted finances should have been revised. The finances granted to the Technical University of Liberec increased, although the University often stated inaccurate data during the requirement processes probably in an attempt to cover the deficiencies of the preparation and contractual documents of the investments. The amounts of the budget finances allotted for the reconstruction of the dormitory kept rising while the University’s contribution stayed at the same level.
“The Ministry failed to control the Programme’s implementation and did not reveal that the obligatory conditions for granting and utilizing of the finances had been offended and the projects’ implementation stages had not been prepared to satisfaction. Although most of the constructed buildings will be also used commercially after the 2009 WSC will have ended, the Ministry allowed the City as well as the University to avoid paying for the construction works“, said Dohnal.
The Statutory City of Liberec divided the project of development and construction of sports facilities for the 2009 WSC in Liberec into a various number of contracts thus evading the Act of public orders. In 2007, the state budget finances exceeding over CZK 800 thousand were allotted to fund deliveries and works, which had not been carried out. The invoices for works were settled up in spite the existing completion bonds and invoices for over CZK 4.4 million were paid in 2006 and for over CZK 2 million in 2007.
In 2006 and 2007, the Technical University of Liberec violated the budgetary discipline and made an unauthorized use of the state budget finances in total over CZK 13.6 million while defraying unexecuted works and supplies. Only after the auditors from the SAO had called attention to the fact that alterations to the property of the dormitory in Liberec-Harcov (project TUL–SKI 2009) were invoiced wrongly, the University started to hand back the unauthorized invoices and later accepted invoices retroactively.
The auditing operation was included into the 2007 Audit Plan of the SAO under No. 07/27. Marie Hošková, Member of the SAO Board, controlled the operation and prepared the audit conclusion as well.
Radka Burketová
Press Speaker
Supreme Audit Office