CONTROL YUAN, TAIWAN | CY Urges District Offices in Indigenous Areas to Address Financial Neglect of Facilities

To fundamentally improve procurement cases, which have repeatedly involved illegal acts or derelictions of duty by personnel, and the operation of district offices in indigenous areas, the Control Yuan members have formed a special task group to conduct a comprehensive investigation and analysis of systemic issues. The Control Yuan Financial and Economic Affairs Committee reviewed and approved an investigation report on February 8, 2023 pointing out the systemic violation and neglect of duties, and asking the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP), Executive Yuan Public Construction Commission, Ministry of Justice Agency Against Corruption, related local governments, National Development Council, and Executive Yuan Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, to think about ways to improve this situation.

According to the information collected in the investigation report, financial irregularities have occurred in indigenous townships, and most indigenous areas have recognized the lack of manpower and professionalism as the biggest key. Secondly, Article 11 of Indigenous Peoples Employment Rights Protection Act stipulates that in principle, indigenous manufacturers should be given priority in contracting procurement cases in indigenous areas that do not reach the announced amount. However, due to the low number of indigenous manufacturers, there are no indigenous manufacturers or insufficient legal numbers of bids, which leads to the prolongation of administrative procedures. In addition, due to the remote locations, difficult construction, and high labor and raw material costs in indigenous township areas, along with other factors, foreign manufacturers lack the willingness to participate in bidding, resulting in repeated bidding processes, which also causes related problems.

In view of the procurement dilemma facing such indigenous townships, the investigation report pointed out that the current mechanism is still inadequate, and that the CIP, as the competent authority for indigenous affairs in Taiwan, should work with relevant agencies to establish a guidance mechanism to assist district offices in indigenous areas to overcome the predicament and reduce/curb the occurrence of financial violations.

Source: The Control Yuan, Taiwan