Audit report | University of Macau failed to better manage public resources

The University of Macau (UM) failed to better manage public resources when granting housing units to staff who already owned a home, a Commission of Audit report shows.
“UM’s actions are a clear breaching of the government’s social housing policy principle, while going against the principle of good management of public resources,” it reads.
Through the report, the commission raised criticism over how UM has handled public funds, particularly when it has come to managing its staff housing system, as well as when it created a research institute in Zhuhai, and in regards to the University of Macau Development Foundation.
The commission found irregularities in UM’s staff housing scheme, which allows a group of professionals, who work under specific duties, to be granted a housing unit without the need to pay rent. Data collected by CA shows that until May 2014, 217 UM employees holding Macau IDs were granted housing units, although 32 of them already owned a home in the city. Five of them actually owned two houses, the report stressed.
In response to the CA’s report, the university said in a press release that it “follows the principle of spending public money properly to make sure that the allocation of resources can best serve the university’s development objectives.”
“In response to the staff housing system mentioned in the report, UM stresses that on-campus housing is not meant as a social benefit; it was designed to meet the needs of the university’s development, and to facilitate the university’s pursuit of academic excellence,” UM clarified.
The university stressed that its housing system “is in line with the usual practice of higher education institutions worldwide,” as it aims to improve the university’s competitiveness in the market, while also encouraging staff to stay on campus “so that they can have more time to interact with students.”
The CA report also questions the university’s actions in establishing the UMacau Research Institute Zhuhai, which was registered as a “private, non-business entity.” According to the report, the legal framework used to create the institute ended up preventing it from applying for supporting funds by not meeting certain requirements.
The UM said that the institute was registered as a “private non-business entity” due to the lack of laws or regulations in mainland China governing non-profit organizations in Zhuhai established by governmental departments or public organizations from Macau.
Nevertheless, the university acknowledged that “some aspects of the establishment of the research institute may not have been handled very appropriately, so it submitted a report to the University Council in late 2014, and has signed an agreement with the research institute to legally make sure that UM has strict control and supervision over the research institute.”
The report also criticized the legal framework behind the establishment of the University of Macau Development Foundation (UMDF), which was created in 2009 as a legal person (under private law). Therefore, UM itself is not part of this foundation, and does not have capacity to intervene or to supervise the foundation, the CA report stressed.
In addition, the report shows that donations to the university can be given through the foundation, but that the entities do not have any legal relation.
The university said that it welcomes the CA’s suggestions on the UMDF. UM also says that it will ponder “the possibility of adopting the suggestions that the UMDF be established by UM as the founder, in accordance with the Civil Code, or that the UMDF should be established by a self-governing body through [respective] legislation.”
The university concluded by stating that “the rights and interests of the university have not suffered any damage.”
The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, said yesterday that he would be requesting that UM clarify the issues mentioned in the report. He recalled that as the university is a public entity, it needs to abide by the law and regulations, and therefore cannot waste public money, as reported on Radio Macau.  CP