Ministry of Health contracts criticised

The Auditor-General today expressed concerns at the Health Ministry awarding 60 contracts worth $1.36 million to two former employees with little competitive tendering.

In a report released today, the Government watchdog said Matthew Allen and David Clarke only had to tender for four of the contracts with the rest being handed to them on a "sole provider" basis.

The two men won the first contracts when they were working for the ministry on fixed term contracts in June 2001.

The ministry said the contracts were handed out because Mr Allen and Mr Clark had specialist skills, but the Auditor-General said the ministry did little to check it was getting value for money or provide evidence that it considered whether others could do the job.

The Auditor-General had concerns about how the contracting process was handled in the case of the two men and others.

There was "confusion" in the ministry which created a "risk of an inconsistent" approach to buying services, the report said.

- NZPA