Ministry of Labour and Social Protection in the attention of the Court of Accounts

The Court of Accounts of the Republic of Moldova (CoARM) examined on July 16 this year the audit report of the consolidated financial reports of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MLSP) concluded on December 31, 2023.

According to the audited financial reports, the patrimony managed by MLSP at the situation of December 31, 2023 amounted to 541.2 million lei, and the actual expenses – to 4.2 billion lei.

Following the audit of the consolidated financial reports of the MLSP for the budgetary year ended 31 December 2023, the CoARM issued its audit opinion with reservations.

The main shortcomings were presented at the meeting:

• the audit was limited to expose on the total expenditure in the amount of 3.3 billion lei, reflected in the account „Social Services”, used to provide compensation to citizens in the cold period of the year.

In this context, it is denoted that, although the normative and institutional framework, necessary to ensure the creation and implementation of the information system „Energy vulnerability”, was established, there are some reservations that have mainly concerned the failure to interact and exchange data between this information system and other information systems, having key data on indices determining individual payments to prevent and combat energy vulnerability of the population, increase energy accessibility among vulnerable consumers, etc;

• account „Investments in progress” was overvalued, and account ,,Buildings”- with 9 million 192.1 thousand lei, as a result of the non-capitalization of investments made in the building managed by an entity;
• the non-transmission to the balance of investments made by the tenants, to the lessor determined the undervaluation of the account „Machines and machineries” with 346.1 thousand lei, and the value of the account ,,Buildings” with the amount of 531.5 thousand lei;
• the value of the account „Active non-materials” was overvalued by about 24 million 740.9 thousand lei, which, as a result of the failure of MLSP to acquire 15 non-functional modules from the 21 existing modules in IAS „Social Assistance”, with the value of 36 million 388.8 thousand lei;
• the value of the account „Actions and other forms of capital participation within the country” has been diminished, estimated by 18 million 935.9 thousand lei related to investments in the Republican Center experimental prosthesis orthopedics and rehabilitation, as a result of the lack of full registration of investments made by MLSP in the infrastructure of the founded institution, as well as the transmission in management of buildings and land that are part of the public domain of state property.

With regard to the expenditure related to the remuneration of work, the audit found that the insufficiency of the institutional mechanisms of internal control within the audited entities, it caused the calculation and irregular payment of salaries for some persons who were not on the territory of the Republic of Moldova and at work, respectively, this resulted in unjustified expenses for the remuneration of work in the amount of 69 thousand lei by MLSP, the State Labor Inspectorate, The National Council for Determining Disability and Work Capacity and the National Agency for Employment.

Audit conclusions at the Ministry of Health, examined at the Court of Accounts meeting

Future priorities of the Court of Accounts discussed with the EU Ambassador to Moldova