Budget 2022: GECOM leads constitutional agencies with $4.1B allocation

…Audit Office gets $1B; Parliament Office $1.8B

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is leading the way when it comes to allocations from Budget 2022 to the constitutional agencies, the first such allocation since the Government passed the amendments to the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA).
According to a motion moved by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, a lump sum of $11.7 billion was allocated to the Constitutional agencies.
“Whereas sections 15 and 80B (3) of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, Cap. 73:02 require that the annual budget proposal of each constitutional agency listed in the Third Schedule of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana be included in a motion to be moved by the Minister with Responsibility for Finance proposing the approval by the National Assembly of the recommended lump sum subvention for each of the said Constitutional Agencies,” the motion stated.
Out of this lump sum, $4 billion in current sums was allocated to GECOM, as well as a $120 million capital sum. According to the profile page of the finance estimates, the allocation to GECOM would go towards a number of objectives.
The money would go towards GECOM maintaining documentation; developing computerised applications to produce a voters list for General, Regional and Local Government Elections; implementing a system for continuous voter registration, designing voter education programmes; and ensuring the transparency of future elections.
The allocation to GECOM is also intended to ensure that “technologically-sound computer applications are designed and utilised to produce acceptable voters lists; discrepancies relating to the preparation of the voters list are minimised; (and there are) continuous voter education programmes.”
One of the issues on GECOM’s agenda is the holding of Local Government Elections (LGE), which were last held on November 12, 2018, and should have been held last year. However, GECOM’s discussions for much of 2021 were consumed with the removal of senior functionaries at the Secretariat who were implicated in electoral fraud at the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
After those personnel were removed, GECOM’s discussions shifted to filling those critical positions. In fact, it was only in December that the Commission finally completed the appointment of a Chief Elections Officer (CEO), namely Vishnu Persaud. The other top positions in the Secretariat are yet to be filled.
Meanwhile, a sum of $1B was allocated towards the Audit Office of Guyana, which is tasked with auditing the accounts of Central Government and regional administrations. The agency’s last report to be tabled in Parliament was the 2020 Auditor General Report.
The money will go towards “timely preparation and submission of the report of the Auditor General to Parliament; Superannuation benefits paid in accordance with existing regulations; efficient and effective support available to business units and divisions; strengthened institutional framework (and) enhanced professional relationships via seminars, conferences and other symposia.”
Another sum of $1.8B was allocated towards the Parliament Office, while $2.2 B was allocated to the Supreme Court of Judicature.
Meanwhile, the Ethnic Relations Commission received $171.4 million; the Teaching Service Commission $120.4 million, the Public and Police Service Commissions received $156.6 million and the Rights Commissions $130.6 million.
Meanwhile, the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) was granted an allocation of $196.4 million. The life of the Commission ended in 2019, and there have since been efforts made at the level of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to fill the positions on the PPC.
Among those shortlisted for the PPC are President of the Guyana Bar Association, Attorney-at-Law Pauline Chase; Financial Analyst Joel Bhagwandin; former Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Berkley Wickham; Diana Rajkumar and Rajnarine Singh. (G3)