| …discrepancies continueThe Ministry of Finance recently made available in the National Assembly the Treasury Memorandum in response to the 2006 Auditor General’s report. The promises then by the Government seem to have borne little fruit.The Treasury Memorandum is the document that states how the government plans to respond to the deficiencies pointed out in the Auditor General Report.One case in point is the overpayment to contractors.The 2006 Auditor General’s report had lambasted the various budget agencies over the overpayments to contractors as well as the inability to recoup monies.In response the Ministry of Finance said, “Steps would be taken to further strengthen the mechanisms in place for the verification of the completion of projects. Additionally, Government intends to take appropriate action against those who are culpable of authorising transactions which lead to overpayments.”The most recent Auditor General’s reports still had cause to lambaste some of the budget agencies for the same issue that they promised to take steps to avoid a recurrence.As it relates to the breaching of Tender Board Procedures and splitting of contracts, the Ministry had promised that the tender board would insist that Agencies that are non-compliant with the Tender Board Regulations, including contract splitting and non-compliance with the provisions of the Procurement Act and its Regulations,Nike Air Max 2018 Mens Shoes, would face penalties as prescribed under the Act.As it relates to the non-submission of Financial Statements by Subvention Agencies, the Finance Ministry said that considerable progress has been made in reducing the backlog regarding the submission of financial statements to Parliament.“With respect to those Agencies which fall under the direct control of a Ministry/Department, it should be noted that all those financial transactions form part of the Audit Office’s audit of the Public Accounts of that particular Ministry/Department…These are up to date given that the Auditor General has been successful in submitting to Parliament Audit Reports within the stipulated timeline.”On the issue of capital expenditure being met from current allocation the Ministry said that the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA) is quite specific as to the distinction between current and capital expenditure and steps will continue to be taken to ensure compliance.In that treasury memorandum it was stated that the management of the Lottery Fund is executed in accordance with the Laws of Guyana and is subject to audit by the Audit Office of Guyana.The Auditor General each year has consistently said that the management of that fund is not in adherence with the law and should be transferred to the consolidated fund.Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs,Cheap Air Jordan Shoes Wholesale, Charles Ramson,Cheap NFL Jerseys, has publicly disagreed with the Auditor General.At the Ministry of Education the sum of $178,000 representing overpayment on the rehabilitation of the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) building has been fully recovered;The contractor, engaged in the renovation of the library building in which the sum of $704,Cheap Nike Air Max 90 Online,000 represents overpayment,Nike Air Max Tn Shoes Women, has given a written undertaking that monies owed to him will be used to settle the overpayment;It was noted also that all attempts to recover the overpayment of $12.142M relating to the construction of a science library at the University of Guyana have been futile. As a consequence the Ministry has resorted to legal redress through the Attorney General’s Chamber.“The sum of US$9,056,Nike Air Max 97 Australia, relating to the purchase of text books for the University of Guyana (Berbice), has since been refunded to the Ministry of Education and copies of the receipts forwarded to the Audit Office.”The Ministry indicated that efforts are still ongoing to recover the overpayment in the sum of $10.982M on the 11 projects. |
