Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — “There were no vehicle rental agreements prepared for rental vehicles used during the COVID-19 pandemic,” reads one of the findings in the Performance Audit report by the Territorial Audit Office (TAO) of the more than $14 million in federal CARES Act funding awarded to the Health Department (DoH) during the COVID pandemic.

Part four of the Samoa News report on the DoH audit looks at “Vehicle Rental Agreements” findings and the concerns raised by TAO auditors, who noted the absence of rental agreements to support such expenditures.

According to TAO, there were no agreements submitted by rental vendors to support payments for rental vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The expenditure nature was necessary and needed due to the public health emergency crisis,” said TAO; “however there was a lack in documentation and formality process.”

Furthermore, payment for agreed upon services from outside individuals and vendors should be supported by an agreement that specifies the agreed payment amount. In addition, the use of these rental vendors on the recommendation or guidance of a committee(s) was followed other than the department itself should be retained as the documented business justification.

“Failure to have an agreement may result in a higher likelihood of paying an improper amount,” said TAO, which cited in the report six examples of rental payments with different rates.

Data in the report shows vehicle rentals ranging from $2,400 total payment — for the lowest to $5,400 total payment — as the highest rental rate.

TAO explained why this finding is important, saying that, having an executed — prepared and signed — rental vehicle agreement can potentially limit the department's liability exposure in the event of an accident.

TAO recommends that DoH execute proper agreements that adequately support payment of rental services. The agreements are to include, but not be limited to details such as vendor names and location, date of when services should be rendered, an agreed upon amount and other attributes deemed necessary.

In addition, agreements should be included as part of supporting documentation when processing for payment. Also, the department should maintain adequate supporting documentation with proper business justifications and approvals.

“We therefore recommend that in the future, lease agreements are extremely essential and shall be prepared and executed in the proper process,” said TAO.

In its response, DoH management noted that being time sensitive to react and respond to an emergency, DoH needs vehicles immediately for outreaches and more.

However, as recommended, DoH will work closely with Procurement counterparts as well as formulate an emergency plan and risk assessment to avoid delays while adhering to the regulations.

“Furthermore, we concur and as of date, our finance team is informing our programs and divisions to assure that all leased vehicle rentals have contracts and agreements in place,” said DoH. “This effort will be a continuous reminder as we move forward.”

“In our efforts to proactively perform our duties in various work sites, the Department of Health had to make a difficult decision to expedite the process of renting vehicles to meet this need,” said DoH management, and explained the primary purpose of the rented vehicles — is to transport travelers from commercial aircraft to quarantine sites and DoH personnel to:

•        Testing sites conducted for parties entering American Samoa by commercial aircraft or vessels.

•        Regular In-home care for the elderly population due to their serious vulnerability to COVID.

•        Quarantine sites where groups of travelers regularly rotate to be quarantined for 14 days.

Samoa News will report in future edition on details of other findings and recommendations by TAO.