– No proper record of how Govt.’s assets were sold, transferred or dispose ofBy Kiana Wilburg Finance Minister Winston Jordan says that once no plausible reason can be provided as to why parts of theFinance Minister, Winston JordanIntegrated Financial Management and Accounting System (IFMAS) are not in use, then the public can rest assured that it would be implemented immediately.The computerized accounting system was created by the Canadian company Freebalance. It is intended to ensure accountability and transparency regarding how taxpayers’ money is budgeted and spent by the government.A specially tailored system was made for Guyana by the company, and it was implemented on January 1, 2004, under former President Bharrat Jagdeo. It comes with seven components: Appropriation, Expenditure, General Ledger, Budget Preparation & Reporting System (BPRS), Purchasing, Revenue and Asset & Inventory Modules. After ten years, the Purchasing and Asset and Inventory Modules are the ones still to be implemented.Last year, this newspaper carried a series of articles showing how liability for assets and monies could be improved if all the modules belonging to the IFMAS system were operable.The new Finance Minister told this newspaper, that he will look into the matter as he is familiar with the system.“That system was initially brought here under a grant agreement with the Canadians. Any subsequent module to be added will be under that licence and would have to be paid for by us…I have not spoken to the staff here, but what I understand is that when it was first put in, we had two or three modules working and later on, we had two or three more added,Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys, and we would have paid for that process,” Jordan expressed.He added, “You have to bring in the people to activate it and so forth, but I will be the first to admit that the others which are not in place are extremely useful.”The Finance Minister said that were the Asset and Inventory module in place, the system of handing over of assets would have been “much easier and believable.”That very module provides the ability to create an inventory for asset entries,Wholesale Jerseys From China, provide the ability for tracking issues and receipts; provide the ability to enter receipts for deliveries to stores via the Purchasing Module; provide the ability to make adjustments to reflect inventory average and shortages; and provide the ability to provide queries and reports on current inventory, stock activity and receiving reports.The unimplemented Purchasing Module provides the ability to create purchase requisitions and orders with self-creating commitments to reserve the necessary funds; provide the ability to record the receipts and return of goods and automatically update the purchase order to reflect the transactions; complete integration with the payment process to reflect payment for goods ordered and received; and provide the ability to create an asset record when goods are received.Jordan continued: “I am not saying that people have cheated, but I am saying that because it is not in place, you still have to go and verify that these assets are in place. For example, if ‘X’ ministry says these are the vehicles we are handing over,Cheap NFL Jerseys, you still have to verify through carrying out a check that the records reflect the truth”.“There is no proper register of the properties of the ministries, or an asset register that says over the last five or three years of your time in government, these are the assets which were transferred, disposed of or sold.”Jordan said for this purpose, the Asset and Inventory Module “would be beautiful.”He vowed that it is something he will definitely look into. He said however,Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys, “We have to find out how much under the licence is required to get it up and running.”“If I ascertain that we don’t have to pay, then I would try to find out what is stopping us from activating it. I have to find out a reason why. And if no plausible reason can be given,Wholesale Jerseys Cheap, I will have it activated immediately, provided that we can do so.”The Finance Minister said that if it requires “a humongous amount of people, then we will have to prioritize our activities”.It is important to note that the Former Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh had said that over 400 persons have been trained to use IFMAS.Jordan noted that he would “love to see it happen” because with government’s assets “no one can tell you where it is at.” He said that no one seems to be able to keep a proper asset register,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, which would also include the gifts received from international bodies.He recalled that the country’s Auditor General, Deodat Sharma had complained bitterly that the Finance Ministry’s system for recording gifts and assets is very poor.Sharma in a previous interview with Kaieteur News, had even said that should the two unused IFMAS modules be operationalised, it would certainly make for an easier and more efficient audit of government books. With this position, the guardian of the national purse has continuously called for the two modules to be activated.Doug Hadden, Vice President of Sales of the Canadian company which develops the IFMAS, had said that he is unaware of any case where a government bought the system and did not use all of the modules. He said that while Governments are treated with a sense of privacy, he would advise that all the modules be used.Though the former Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh contended that the two unimplemented modules are for a more mature environment, it is important to note that when Guyana got the IFMAS system, which was secured at a cost of $132M, it was specially tailored to suit the country’s needs.AFC’s Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan had said, “Not to want the implementation of those two most important modules which were paid for and delivered to the Government, exhibits an operation akin to a Pablo Escobar running the Drug Enforcement Agency. Just like what Escobar would have done at the DEA, they have knocked out the intelligence system which could have caught them.”
