Rs. 402 mn squandered on failed radar project

The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) has disclosed that the government incurred a loss of Rs. 79 mn due to a failed bid to establish a radar system in Gongala with the support of the World Meteorological Organization.

This was disclosed when the top management of Department of Meteorology appeared before the COPA on 10 August.

It was revealed that the project implemented in 2008 had failed but approximately Rs. 402 million, of which Rs. 323 million was provided by the World Meteorological Organization, had been spent.

An officer of the Department of Meteorology, who inspected the equipment, had advised the relevant authorities not to accept it as it was not in working condition. Officials of the Auditor General’s Department said it had taken many years to build a road to the relevant place and by the time the equipment brought in they had become obsolete.