The Military Academy in Sofia has not complied with legal requirements for management. This is the conclusion of the Court of Auditors in an audit report on the Academy's activities from January 2022 to mid-2023.
A Board of Trustees has not been established and is not functioning at the Academy, and there has been a discrepancy with the provisions on own revenues in the VA Regulations, which is in breach of the requirements of the Higher Education Act, the report, quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio, says.
By law, the Board of Trustees assists the academy in implementing effective and transparent management and in providing quality education and training, its budget. The Court of Auditors has established non-compliance with the rules for supplying food to the academy's cafeteria and shop.
The current internal rules for the functioning of the cafeteria and shop do not include a procedure for selecting a supplier of food products. There are gaps, inconsistencies and violations in the award of public procurement through procedures under the Public Procurement Act. Among them are the lack of disclosed circumstances for exclusion from competitions, the envisaged performance guarantee, and the unlawful requirement of a detailed written justification for a 20 percent more favorable offer from one participant.
The audited costs for materials, external services, major repairs and the acquisition of long-term tangible assets are in accordance with regulatory requirements, internal rules and contracts, the Court of Auditors writes. Among the recommendations are the Military Academy "Georgi Rakovski" to ask the Minister of Defense to update the regulations, to tighten control over the spending of financial resources. The Academy has sent its written opinions to the Chamber.