and further deposits amounting to $18,603,853 were received during the year; from this total of $33,432,233 the amount taken to revenue in respect of completed works was $10,499,844, while $2,154,420 was refunded, leaving balances remaining on the deposit accounts at the end of the year totalling $20,777,969.
2.33
Under the Government-financed Staff Welfare Scheme, funds allocated by Government are placed in a departmental deposit account to be used for authorised welfare and relief purposes to assist lower-paid staff. During the year, 88 loans totalling $82,300 were issued under the scheme and a total sum of $58,205 covering loans issued before 1976-77 was recovered in repayments. The balance available at the end of the year for all purposes was $62,262.
Contracts and Contractors
2.34
The revised financial criteria governing the F.W.D. List of Approved Contractors came into effect on 1st June, 1976 whereby
- (i) a revision of the above List undertaken in the latter part of the previous year was substantially completed;
- (ii)
- (iii) a system of continuous review was instituted; and
- a system for vetting the financial viability of contractors in undertaking contracts for this Department was implemented.
A three-months "period of grace" was extended to contractors who initially failed to meet the revised financial criteria and at the expiry of the period 34 contractors were taken off the List, 12 contractors were suspended and 12 were down-graded. A revised List was issued in September 1976.
2.35
As part of the continuous review, 250 accounts from contractors were examined, involving altogether the holding of 75 meetings with representatives of contractors. In addition, 47 sets of accounts were examined in connection with applications for entry, upgrading or confirmation within the List, resulting in six applications being turned down.
2.36 During the year, 533 capital works contracts with a value of $1,315 million were awarded. The number in progress at the beginning of the year was 538 and of the combined total of 1,071, 519 were still uncompleted at the end of the year. Of the number awarded in the course of the year, 272 were passed to this Office for checking the financial viability of contractors for the award of these contracts. Altogether, 672 accounts were examined in this connection.
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