2019 Audit Report handed over… (fly line)

GUYANA’S Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, has submitted his 2019 Audit Report to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir and it is expected to be an ‘interesting’ read. The document, handed over during a simple ceremony hosted at Parliament Buildings on Brickdam, Georgetown, contains findings of some “special investigations” related to the controversial Ministry of Public Health Drug Bond, the Ministry of Social Protection’s Sustainable Livelihood Entrepreneurial Development Project and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure’s Leguan Stelling Rehabilitation. While investigations of these projects have already been completed, a few other special investigations are still continuing. These include probes into the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, Ministry of Legal Affairs’ Retainers Agreement and Ministry of the Presidency’s Acquisition of Birth Certificates.

Sharma told reporters that the execution of this year’s audits was carried out under severe limitations, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Nonetheless, the Audit Office of Guyana, although faced with these challenges and risk of exposure to the virus, was still able to complete a substantial amount of work in order to submit our report,” he said. The Auditor General noted that while his office commenced four performance audits, these suffered significant delays due to the pandemic. “These are, a ‘Review of Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)’; ‘Preparedness for Marine Oil Spill Response’; ‘Maternal Health Care Services at the Georgetown Public Hospital’; and, ‘An Assessment of the Hinterland School Feeding Programme.”

Sharma said that these audits are likely to conclude in 2021. He noted that as the pandemic continues, the Audit Office is facing new and unique challenges in executing its functions. These challenges, he noted, have all pointed to the need for government to embrace technology and move away from the “manual system and paper-based payments, to computerised system and electronic payment”. “Now, more than ever, the Audit Office has to rely on technology in performing its audits. This makes it more challenging, as we may not be able to physically observe all processes. The requirement to access everything remotely and electronically with limited IT capabilities affected both the Audit Office and its auditees,” Sharma stressed.

Upon accepting the report, Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, said he was pleased that despite the delays and challenges, the Audit Office was able to deliver on its mandate. Nadir reflected that almost two decades ago, the Auditor General was tasked with delivering the document to whoever was the Minister of Finance. However, in the interest of transparency, the document is now required to be submitted to the National Assembly. “That was an important separation in terms of the Office of the Auditor General, which is an independent constitutional office, reporting to the executive,” Nadir posited. The Speaker underscored the importance of performance audits, expressing the hope that more resources would be provided to the Audit Office, in an effort to increase the number of performance audits done each year.