City Hall audit incomplete after delays from officials

One month later

– Auditor General forced to write Town Clerk due to non-cooperation

City Hall executives had written to the Auditor General’s Office requesting an audit; but during that exercise, City Hall officials have not been as helpful as had been hoped. Thus the final phase of the audit, which had commenced last month, has been stalled because of this lack of cooperation.

In an interview with this publication on Thursday, Auditor General Deodat Sharma (AG Sharma) revealed that the relationship between the auditors and City Hall personnel has so deteriorated that Town Clerk Royston King had to be written regarding the undue delays being caused by City Hall officials not making the necessary documents available to the auditors.

“There were some hiccups and (they) were unable to make the arrangements for us to go in. So the Town Clerk promised (that) by May 8 (he would) make arrangements (for the auditors to go in). I had to write him another letter, because they haven’t been making the records available, or the books. So we have not gone in as yet (to audit the accounts),” AG Sharma revealed. The audit has consequently still not been completed, more than one month after it had commenced.

AG Sharma explained that the audit of the accounts was supposed to have started over a month ago, after the physical or stock audit had been done.

There have been persistent calls for City Hall to be fully audited. Back in 2015, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) had received two grants under the Communities Ministry’s Capital Programme for the “Georgetown Restoration Programme”, in addition to the “Emergency Solid Waste Management of Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill”.

Each of those multi-million-dollar grants was based on Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between the Communities Ministry’s Permanent Secretary and Town Clerk of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown (M&CC). According to the Auditor General’s 2015 Report, there were several “discrepancies” in the way the sums of money allotted to the City Council had been spent during that year.

After examining 212 payment vouchers, a number of discrepancies were reportedly found, including hundreds of instances wherein there was no evidence that the validity of payment vouchers had been certified by the accountant or other authorised officer before being payable.

Asked yesterday whether those discrepancies were ever satisfactorily resolved, AG Sharma responded in the negative, and said that was one of the reasons why the current audit being carried out by his office was necessary. It is understood that this audit is supposed to probe from as far back as 2012.

“There was a session with the Public Accounts Committee (wherein) they (officials) appeared and answered questions (on) some of the areas,” Sharma recalled. “That’s why we want to go in and do a thorough audit.”

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Councillor Bishram Kuppen had written to the press last year, expressing dissatisfaction that the motions for an audit of the municipality’s affairs had been denied.

Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase-Green had denied all suggestions that she was stymieing attempts to conduct an audit into the financial affairs of City Hall. In fact, she claimed she had been the one calling for an audit.

“Since 2012 I’ve said it — that we are open to an audit whenever and by whoever. I want it to be clearly said that I have no objections to any audit. Since 2011, I have been calling for an audit for the City Council. When the PPP was in Government they did not take heed; and now, in 2016, you’re hearing all the cries for an audit. I still don’t have any objections,” Chase-Green had declared.

In his letter, the PPP councillor had charged that important services were still not being provided, and the City was experiencing financial difficulties despite the millions of dollars it had collected in revenue. Kuppen had also referred to a donation of $8 million the City had received from the Chinese Government to assist the clean-up campaign in Georgetown. (Jaryl Bryan)