KUALA LUMPUR – The Government Integrated Telecommunications Network (MyGov*Net) has been under-utilised in several ministries and agencies to the extent that it has gone untouched for more than three months, the Auditor-General’s Report 2019 Series II revealed today.
The report, prepared by Auditor-General Datuk Nik Azman Nik Abdul Majid, found that there are 61 locations under 20 ministries and agencies that did not utilise the service for three months in a row, but still made payments to the contractor amounting to RM1.78 million.
The audit for the internal telco system took place from 2013 up to 2020 and uncovered other matters, including the government being billed twice, paying extra and under-paying the contractor.
“The audit analysis for the network usage from October 2017 to December 2020 found that the MyGov*Net system was not utilised for more than three months in a row in 61 locations.
“Despite that, the audit found that payment was still made to the contractor amounting to RM1.78 million, even though the system was not being used. This occurred because Mampu did not monitor the agencies’ usage,” said the report.
It also found that some agencies under-utilised the service for three months in a row, with only 0.01% to 20% usage. The payment for this under-utility was RM0.65 million.
Another issue raised by Nik Azman was that some agencies had used an older system simultaneously with the new system, costing the government another RM2.46 million.
These agencies did not end contracts with their old service provider on time.
MyGov*Net is a network system parked under the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu).
In response, Mampu said it has informed the respective agencies to apply to stop using MyGov*Net if they do not need the service or are not fully utilising service offered by the contractor entirely.
“We have ended the service for 19 locations. One location has been downgraded and will use the network if they need it and finally, three locations have started using the network in March and September 2020,” Mampu said. – The Vibes, September 28, 2021
