IACM slammed

A total of around MOP98.67 million (US$12.39 million) has been spent on the management and maintenance of Macau’s public spaces that include recreational facilities. Despite the amount spent, much of the equipment is damaged and poses a safety hazard, according to a report issued yesterday by the Commission of Audit (CA).
The CA says it has been conducting inspections of the city’s gardens, parks and recreational areas that fall under the management of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) for the past two years.
The watchdog identified broken glass doors of fire equipment, rusted exercise equipment, smashed tiles and ‘scattered garbage that have been left for months without being attended’ .
“It was found that a large number of facilities and equipment that were examined are in damaged condition and some of them pose security risks,” notes the report.
“In total, of the 30 problems detected by the CA, 28 were not detected by the IACM even after their inspections, and 11 of them remained without improvement until March 2016, although the IACM had been informed with written notice by the CA in April 2014,” it details.
The Commission of Audit also points out flaws in the operation of a periodic inspection and repair mechanism, introduced by IACM in order to detect and track problems relating to plant and equipment and hygiene conditions in a timely manner.
‘The audit results showed that the mechanism was designed and executed poorly and security actions were not applied as established,’ states the report.
Poor supervision
According to the report, in 2015, IACM spent MOP98.6 7million, including MOP44.1 million for outsourced cleaning services. This does not include the money that the Environment Protection Bureau paid for outsourced cleaning services for public places.
“However, it was found that the bureau failed to supervise the contracted services suppliers appropriately and certain examined sites remained in poor hygienic conditions for a long period of time, thereby decreasing the willingness of citizens and visitors to use municipal facilities,” notes the report.
“The CA also noted that the facilities and equipment damaged with immediate risk were not repaired in a timely manner and there were not even signs placed to remind the public, which prompted the risk of occurrence of accidents.”
The Commission of Audit urged the bureau to repair or replace the facilities and equipment found to be in poor condition and that pose an immediate risk, and to improve the inspection mechanism to speed up the detection of problems.
“Public services must proceed in a timely manner, and routine follow-up of the facility has to be conducted in order to prevent deterioration and reduce repair costs,” the report adds.
In IACM’s response published in the report, the bureau acknowledged the criticism and promised to intensify the cleaning action and strengthen management practices.