Sussex Street drug bond, SLED Programme, Leguan Stelling targeted

After a two-month delay, Speaker of the House, Manzoor Nadir, yesterday received the 2019 Auditor General’s Report from Auditor General (AG), Deodat Sharma.
The handing over took place at the Parliament Building.
In presenting the 16th report of the Audit Office, the Auditor General noted several limitations that arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic that led to the delay in the report being handed over.

To this the AG said, “As a result of the pandemic affecting the country and the related measures under the Public Health Ordinance, which included rotation of workers and travel restrictions, our access to Regions One, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten and the physical verification of projects in these regions could not have been undertaken, resulting in severe limitations in the scope of these audits.”
He further noted a limitation of the scope of the audits conducted at the ministries and departments due to minimal staff on duty, the restricted office hours and limited physical interaction mandated by the COVID-19 protocols.

In terms of performance audits – four started this year and would conclude next year. These are the Review of Council for Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET); Preparedness for the Marine Oil Spill Response; Maternal Health Care Services at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC); and An Assessment of the Hinterland School Feeding Programme.
Notably, three special investigations were finalized for the period October-November 2020. These included the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) – Drug Bond; Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) – Leguan Stelling Rehabilitation; and the Ministry of Social Protection (MoSP) – Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED).

In 2018, Kaieteur News had reported that the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government had exited the drug bond arrangement at Sussex Street, Albouystown, but not before racking up a bill of $314.6M.
The controversy became intensified when it was discovered late 2016, that the facility was merely storing items such as lubricants and condoms.

Meanwhile, the SLED programme initiated under the previous A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government has attracted attention. In fact, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, had revealed that $250 million from the programme was unaccounted for.
There are also three other investigations at varying stages of completion namely: Mayor and Councillors of the City Georgetown; Ministry of Legal Affairs – Retainers Agreement; and Ministry of the Presidency – Acquisition of Birth Certificates.

On receiving the report, the Speaker said it would be laid at the first sitting of the National Assembly. Afterwards, it would become a public document.
The report is supposed to be examined and deliberated on by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) where recommendations are made to correct deficiencies.