Auditor General to finalise report on audit into Larry London’s birth certificates scandal

Auditor General Deodat Sharma on Thursday disclosed that an interim report will be done in connection with the investigation of 100,000 birth certificates that were acquired through close ally of the APNU/AFC coalition Larry London, via a Florida-based company.

Sharma told Guyana Times that his office is combing through all aspects of the audit while noting that they were faced with some difficulty in accessing documents, since the company is based overseas. This is one of six special investigations which were launched, three of which have already been completed.
“We are working on it. This will be the interim report, not the final one,” Sharma told this publication.
The audit was ordered back in September when Attorney General Anil Nandlall wrote Sharma, requesting that the contract between the then Department of Citizenship and Universal Procurement Services Inc be audited. This would bring to light whether there was compliance with the provisions of the Procurement Act, and if there was non-compliance, then the reasons must be stated. It would also highlight reasons why the services of the conventional publisher of the birth certificates were not sought.

Had the services of the conventional publisher been retained, then what would have been the estimated cost to print and publish the same documents?
During the first day of the examination of the budget estimates, Governance Minister Gail Teixeira was asked about a $29.1 million allocation under line item 6224, page 46 of the 2020 estimates. She revealed that the amount relates to Universal Procurement Services, which was contracted to print thousands of birth certificates for the Ministry of Citizenship.
Describing the contract as unusual and strange, Teixeira went on to reveal that controversial businessman London is the principal of the company. Teixeira, a former Home Affairs Minister with oversight for citizenship, noted that previously it was the local printers who received such contracts.
The company itself, Universal Procurement Services, was registered with Florida’s Division of Corporations. London is listed as one of three directors. However, a perusal of the database shows that the company’s status is in fact inactive.
London has been the subject of numerous articles, dating as far back as his involvement in the controversial Durban Park project. Lambasted on all sides for its lack of transparency and its structural defects, Durban Park was built through the coordination of Homestretch Development Incorporated (HDI) – a company co-owned by London. Public funds for the project, which cost a total of over $1 billion, was scraped from multiple avenues by the former APNU/AFC Government and handed over to HDI.

COVID-19 challenges
On Thursday, the Auditor General handed over the completed report for the fiscal year 2019 to Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, at the Public Buildings.
Sharma has said the audit was conducted under extreme circumstances due to COVID-19, which would cause some delay and reduction of the scope of the audit conducted.
The pandemic had brought on the challenges of travelling to remote locations and having a full staff complement. Nevertheless, transparency and public accountability were at the helm of these efforts, in promoting good governance.
“There were limitations in the scope of the audits conducted at Ministries and Departments due to minimal staff on duty, the need to prioritize their restricted hours of work and limited physical interactions as mandated by the stipulated COVID-19 protocols.”
He noted that four performance audits were delayed due to the pandemic, but will be completed in 2021. However, three special investigations were finalized during October 2019, including the Public Health Drug Bond, Leguan Stelling Rehabilitation while another three are at various stages.
Going forward, he recognised the need to establish a computerized system, as the reliability on technology becomes inescapable.
“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 process. The requirement to access everything remotely and electronically with limited IT capabilities both affected the Audit Office and its auditees.”
Sharma added, “In going forward, the response to the global pandemic and its associated economic impact provides not only a challenge to government to ensure a careful balance with accountability, transparency and integrity in their response mechanisms but an even greater challenge to the Audit Office to maintain public financial management discipline and addressed increased levels of waste and mismanagement.”
Meanwhile, with regards to the public accounts committee meetings, Speaker of the House, Manzoor Nadir said arrangements are being made since some persons are joining from the hinterland or remote areas.