Paper-heated schools in a commune in Gorj

A town hall in Gorj county purchased wood for heating the educational units, which it also left in the seller’s custody. This happened in the Scoarța commune, where the authorities bought 188 cubic meters of wood worth a total of 75,201 lei. Moreover, in the context of a mild winter, the number of locations that should have been heated decreased, and the local authorities increased the purchase of wood without being asked to do so by the management of the educational units.

“Receipt notes and differences were drawn up, for the total amount of 188 cubic meters. in the total amount of 75,201.06 lei, signed by the reception committee but also by the manager, that he received them under management, although the wood had been left in the custody of the supplier as it appears from the custody contracts, with a period of validity of the contract until date of 31.12.2023. It should be noted that the custody contracts do not specify the place of storage nor the dates when the supplier will deliver the wood. At the same time, although the payment of the invoices issued by the supplier was made on 07.12.2022 and 23.12.2022 respectively, based on the receipt notes from which it is erroneously shown that the wood was under the management of the entity, the deliveries were made between March 2023 and December 2023, as results from the electronic notices issued without the beneficiary’s receipt signature”, the Court of Accounts report states.

Moreover, in the reports of necessity, the amount needed to be purchased was not specified, and the supply of wood to the schools was done outside of school hours.

“Therefore, without taking into account the existing stock at the date of purchase, but also the area to be heated, a total quantity of 188 sqm was purchased, under the conditions in which the area to be heated was reduced compared to previous years when they were purchased smaller amounts, while at the same time the total area to be heated was reduced due to the fact that Bobu Primary School was heated with an electric plant in 2022. Although the school was requested, no documents were presented to show that all the quantities of wood delivered in the 22 notices were actually stored at the two locations where the heating is done with a wood-fired central heating system, from discussions with the school’s chief accountant it emerged that the delivery was made both during school hours and outside school hours “, the report also states.