Beginning and cloaing cash balances of the entity for the reporting period were not presented in the Statement of Receipts & Payments as required by Clause no. 1.3.12, (c) of IPSAS Cash Basis

Recommendation

Auditor General recommend the Ministry to present opening and closing cash balances in the financial statement, pursuant to section 1.3.12 of Cash Basis IPSAS.

Accountable Government Agencies has not maintained a fixed asset register containing all assets of the state as required by Section 11.03 (d) of the Public Finance Regulation (PFR).

Recommendation

Auditor General recommends the Ministry to maintain a complete fixed asset register, pursuant to section 11.03(d) of the PFR.

Ministry does not carry out a proper reconciliation against SOEs accounts to ensure that dividends to be receivable and received from SOEs are accounted for properly and the year end balance as at 31 December is fairly stated in the CFS.

We note that there were instances where the Ministry approved some set-offs, but failed to make necessary adjustments in the SAP system and CFS for unavailability of State budget for the same.

Recommendation

Auditor General recommends that the Ministry carries out a proper reconciliation of relevant records to ensure that dividends to be receivable and received from SOEs are accounted for properly and the year end balance as at 31 December is fairly stated in the CFS.

In addition, Auditor General recommends that the Ministry approves the set-off requests after confirming the payables to the respective SOEs and budget availability.

MVR 661,710,973 payable to the government by MMA as at 31st December 2021 has not been included in the CFS in accordance with IPSAS 41

Recommendation

Auditor General recommends that the Ministry record the receivables according to IPSAS 41: Financial Instruments.

It has been noted that currently the Ministry has formulated a draft written policy for capital contributions to SOEs, which is yet to be approved. 

Recommendations

Auditor General recommends that the Ministry have an approved policy for making capital contribution to the SOEs to ensure objectivity, justice and fairness in such contributions.

a) Profit from investments included in SDF investment (non-current asset) 

Included in the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF) investments (non-current assets) of MVR 2,037,485,928 as at 31 December 2021 is surplus on such investments. Owing to the way the surplus (profit) on investments were accounted for in books of account (investment and surplus were shown together), we were unable to determine how much was the surplus amount and resulting adjustments to the financial statements. 

b) Lack of a Regulatory Framework for Management of SDF

No legal framework and detailed guidelines have been developed for the governance and operation of SDF fund by the Ministry.

Recommendations

Auditor General recommends, pursuant to the decision of the Economic and Youth Council, that the Ministry develops a legal framework including detailed guidelines for the governance and operations of the SDF.

The consolidated results of the Government of Maldives (GoM)’s operations for the fiscal year ended 31^st December 2021 and the consolidated financial position as at 31^st December 2021 can be summarized as shown below.

Table 1: Budget and Actual Revenue, Grants & expenses - Statement of Budget & Actuals 2021

Table 2: Net debt - Statement of Assets and Liabilities 2021

·         Consolidated Financial Statements 2021 report an operating deficit of MVR 10.6 billion, which is MVR 1.6 billion less than the amount budgeted for the year.

·         The 2021 annual operating deficit is MVR 4.4 billion lower than the previous year.

• The total revenue and grants in 2021 is MVR 21.9 billion which is MVR 820 million more than the budgeted amount.
•  The actual revenue and grants in 2021 is also MVR 6.7 billion more than the 2020 actual revenue.
• The total consolidated expenses for the year 2021 are MVR 32.6 billion, a decrease of MVR 815 million than budgeted.
• The total expenses for the year ended 2021 is, however, higher than previous year by MVR 2.2 billion. This upsurge in actual expenses is primarily due to increase in expenses of government departments and outflows as loan payments and transfers compared to 2020.
• The Government is also in a net debt position of MVR 55.6 billion in 2021 which is MVR 23.8 billion more than the net debt incurred in 2020.
•  During the year, the Government issued MVR 9.6 billion in Fixed Coupon Bonds, made MVR 31.1 billion in Foreign Long-Term Borrowings and MVR 30.4 billion in Short Term Borrowings (domestic/foreign) which increased net debt compared to previous year. 

Overview of 2021 Budget and Actual Revenue & Grants

• The total forecasted revenue and grants by the Government for the financial year 2021 was MVR 21.1 billion, which comprise of MVR 18.9 billion revenue and MVR 2.2 billion grants. 

• Actual revenue and grants for the financial year ended 2021 was MVR 21.9 billion, which is MVR 820 million more than the forecast.

• Compared to the past three years, 2021 is the only year the Government was able to generate more revenue than forecasted. The table below shows the budgetted and actual revenue and grants for the past three years.

·         Actual financing for the year 2021 was MVR 13.2 billion, which was MVR 922 million more than budgeted. However, actual financing of MVR 13.2 billion for the financial year 2021 was lesser than that of the previous year (2020: MVR15 Billion).

Figure 3: Government Actual Financing (Inflows) – Statement of Budget & Actuals

When we analyse the financing inflows further, we could see 41% comes from foreign loans; 32% from Treasury Bills, Bonds and other financial instruments; 20% from overdaraft granted on public bank; and 7% from foreign loan projects. However, there are few other sources contributing marginally.

The government of Maldives reports two main investments in their Statement of Assets. These are investments in State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Sovereign Development Fund (SDF). 

Currently, there are 32 SOEs in the Maldives. Government is the majority stakeholder in most of the SOEs, and 22 out of the 32 SOEs are 100% owned by the State. The highest record of investment in SOEs in the past 5 years was made in 2021 when the government invested MVR 11.2 billion. 

Investment in SDF, which was established in 2017, was reported as MVR 2.0 billion in 2021, that is MVR 189 million less than the amount reported in 2020. 

Cash and Cash Equivalents is a categorization on the Consolidated Financial Statements consisting of cash and current assets with high liquidity. The Government’s cash position increased by MVR 294 million; from MVR 4.6 billion in 2020 to MVR 4.9 billion in 2021.  CFS 2021 also recorded the highest Cash and Cash Equivalent balance for the government over the past five years.

Liabilities represent the obligations the Government of Maldives have towards others. Total liabilities for the year ended 2021 was MVR 86.4 billion. 

Compared to previous years, PSIP spending seems to have increased in 2021 since actual expenditure on PSIP reported in 2021 is MVR 3.17 billion which is MVR 216 million less than the budgeted amount.

Reporting Entity

The scope of consolidation of the consolidated financial statements of the Government of Maldives includes the State; the accountable government agencies and its controlled entities (government agencies, also known as state agencies).

Consolidation disclosures of significant controlled entities are provided below.

Significant Government Controlled Entities in 2021 (61 Entities)

Below are the significant government-controlled agencies.

1. President’s Office

2. People's Majlis

3. Judicial Service Commission

4. Department of Judicial Administration

5. Elections Commission

6. Civil Service Commission

7. Human Rights Commission

8. Anti-Corruption Commission

9. Auditor General’s Office

10. Prosecutor General’s Office

11. Maldives Inland Revenue Authority

12. Employment Tribunal

13. Maldives Media Council

14. Maldives Broadcasting Commission

15. Tax Appeal Tribunal

16. Local Government Authority

17. Information Commissioner’s Office

18. National Integrity Commission

19. Public Service Media

20. Ministry of Finance

21. Ministry of Defense

22. Ministry of Home Affairs

23. Ministry of Education

24. Maldives Islamic University

25. Maldives National University

26. Ministry of Foreign Affairs

27. Ministry of Health

28. Ministry of Economic Development

29. Ministry of Tourism

30. Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment

31. Ministry of National Planning and Infrastructure

32. Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture

33. Ministry of Islamic Affairs

34. Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology

35. Attorney General’s Office

36. Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services

37. Special Budget

38. Pension Budget

39. Maldives Police Services

40. Maldives Customs Services

41. National Social Protection Agency

42. Male’ Group of Hospitals

43. Councils

44. Family Protection Authority

45. Maldives National Defense Force

46. Maldives Correctional Services

47. Maldives Immigration

48. Ministry of Higher Education

49. Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation

50. Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage

51. National Disaster Management Authority

52. Maldives International Arbitration Centre

53. Aviation Security Command

54. Children’s Ombudsperson’s Office

55. Kulhudhuffushi Regional Hospital

56. Addu Equatorial Hospital

57. Ombudsperson’s Office for Transitional Justice

58. Gan Regional Hospital

59. Hulhumale Hospital

60. Ungoofaaru Regional Hospital

61. Abdul Samad Memorial Hospital