Former MP reports Govt’s possible breaches of fiscal laws to Police

Former Member of Parliament and Junior Finance Minister, Juan Edghill, has written to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) seeking an investigation into reports that the Government has broken the law by using monies from the previous fiscal year for projects in the new year.

In the letter, which was seen by this newspaper, Edghill refers to reports in sections of the media that Cabinet noted 57 contracts as of 2019 year-end. Edghill pointed out that a contract was signed in 2020 for the construction of a school at Yarrowkabra.
The former MP also contended in his letter that a cheque was cut on December 31 for the construction of a school at Abraham Zuil. According to him, these monies were drawn from the 2019 budget allocations. He cited Article 217 (1) of the Constitution and the Fiscal Management & Accountability Act.
Article 217 states that “No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except:
a. to meet the expenditure that is charged upon the Fund by this Constitution or by any Act of Parliament, or b. where the issue of those monies has been authorised by an Appropriation Act, or c. where the issue of those monies has been authorised under Article 219.”
Section 43 of the FMA Act meanwhile states that: “Except as otherwise provided in this Act or in any other law, at the end of each fiscal year, any unexpended balance of public monies issued out of the Consolidated Fund shall be returned and surrendered to the Consolidated Fund.”

“Assuming that the legal requirement for the return of all unexpended monies to the Consolidated Fund at the end of the fiscal year 2019 was complied with and, therefore, a legal mechanism would have had to be utilised to make withdrawals in 2020,” Edghill wrote.
“As far as I am aware, no such legal mechanism exists that allows for payment of monies for contracts awarded in 2020. It is against this backdrop that I would like to hereby request that the Guyana Police Force (GPF), immediately launch an investigation into this matter.”
This publication reached out to the Education Ministry for a comment on this matter. Up to press time, one was not forthcoming.
Last year August, the coalition government had announced that it had given its approval for the awarding of close to $1 billion in contracts— ranging from road works to hydropower. The single biggest contract was worth US$2.251 million for the supply and installation of a 150 kW hydropower plant at Chiung River, Kato, Region Eight.
But it came at a time when the Government was supposed to be in caretaker mode after losing a No-Confidence Motion (NCM). At the time, Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, had said that’s the Government’s understanding of what it means to be a caretaker Government.
Some of the limitations on their power, according to Harmon, include restrictions on overseas travel by the President or ministers.
“In its interim mode, the Government shall exercise restraint by not engaging in any initiatives that are likely to be considered controversial, such as embarking on new policy initiatives, programmes or projects including the signing of new international agreements or embarking on new major infrastructural projects.”
“Secondly, to attend to matters considered urgent and in the public interest, such as matters of security, the maintenance of public infrastructure and systems for public health, housing and education and other routine functions. We will continue to implement projects approved by Parliament and in respect of which, contracts have been signed and work commenced before the interim period”.
According to Harmon, the Government would also ensure that new projects carried out will not be too difficult to carry out. At the same time, however, Harmon had insisted that the Government still retained its full array of powers… something hotly contested by the parliamentary Opposition.