Ministry of Awqaf Official Mission in Turkey (Takaful Campaign), 2022–2024

·        Between signs of negligence and indifference... as a result of the absence of oversight, accountability, and the use of public funds..... explicit violations occurred!

·        Episode No. (11)

·        It is clear that much public work is carried out without regard for compliance with regulations and laws, and the rules governing workflow, in the absence of effective oversight, and in the absence of an immediate or retroactive system of accountability and responsibility, and without achieving satisfactory levels of justice and transparency.. The results of the implemented works deviate from the sought administrative discipline, and this is what the State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau (SAACB) recorded as violations and observations in its compliance audit report, which it conducted on the official Committee work mission - the Ministry of Awqaf official mission in Turkey (Takaful Campaign) 2022–2024- and the recommendations clarified by the Bureau to address and correct the observations contained in the report.. However, the aforementioned audit report of the Bureau was not responded to by the concerned party....at all!

·        Below we present a summary of the most prominent observations and violations contained in the compliance audit report:

·        Material violations and observations

1-     The number of participants in the mission is not commensurate with the work that was carried out in Turkey!

2-     The Palestinian Embassy in Turkey requested monetary amounts for the purpose of distributing them to Palestinian applicants residing in Turkey, without obtaining the necessary approvals either when requesting the funds or when disbursing them, such as from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or the Council of Ministers

3-     The Bureau did not clarify the basis for calculating the amount requested by the Embassy, in terms of the number of needy students and the amount allocated per student!

·        Controls on the disbursement process:

1-     The Bureau does not give assurance regarding the validity of the closing of the amounts disbursed by the Palestinian Embassy in Turkey, since the documents are located at the embassy premises, and there is no confirmation of the existence of controls in the disbursement process!

2-     A mixing was noted in the amounts allocated in the donation campaign accounts organized by the Ministry of Awqaf, and there are no bank accounts specific to each campaign, as the ministry deposits them into the ministry's general accounts!

3-     There is a delay in executing disbursements for some campaigns, which may cause them to lose the objective of fundraising and its purpose

·        Supervision of the fundraising campaign

-         There are no supervisory reference bodies or participants in the supervision of fundraising campaigns, as the Ministry of Awqaf alone organizes the campaigns, collects and disburses the campaign funds!

·        Key recommendations: External parties should be involved in the distribution of funds allocated under the campaigns, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Council of Ministers, in addition to the necessity that requests for funds by embassies be routed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the approval of the Council of Ministers, and the necessity of having dedicated bank accounts for each fundraising campaign covered by the Ministry of Awqaf, and not mixing different campaign accounts, so that disbursements are made in accordance with the objective and purpose of the campaign! In addition, there must be confirmation at the ministry of the documents, records and supporting materials that prove the payment of the amount and the closing of advances, and not relying solely on embassy procedures!