MoPI kept millions rather than returning money to Consolidated Fund – AG

…blatantly breaches FMA Act

The Public Infrastructure Ministry has been red-flagged by the Audit Office of Guyana (AOG) in its latest report on public finances; this time, for keeping millions of dollars rather than returning it to the Consolidated Fund as the law says.
According to Auditor General Deodat Sharma in his 2018 Audit Report, checks by his auditors found that the Ministry kept 222 cheques totalling $732.7 million on hand as of January 2019. Further cheques in September revealed that 76 cheques amounting to $9.5 million were still in the Ministry’s possession.
This money, according to the Auditor General, represents unspent balances from the just-concluded year. Section 43 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act of 2003 states: “Except as otherwise provided in this Act or in any other law, at the end of each fiscal year, any unexpended balance of public moneys issued out of the Consolidated Fund shall be returned and surrendered to the Consolidated Fund.”
In its recommendations, the Audit Office recommended that the Ministry ensure compliance with the FMA Act. According to the Ministry in its response, however, all efforts were made to have them either paid to the rightful person or returned to the Consolidated Fund.
“The head of the budget agency (Public Infrastructure Ministry) stated that the Ministry received a large number of cheques in December 2018 from the Ministry of Finance. The head further stated that the cheques were being updated and all efforts will be made to have them paid over to the payees or refunded to revenue,” the report stated.
The Consolidated Fund has an important role to play in governance. Article 216 of the Constitution of Guyana states, “All revenues or other (sums of) money raised or received by Guyana (not being revenues or other sums of money payable by or under an Act of Parliament into some other fund established for any specific purpose; or that may, by or under such an Act, be retained by the authority that received them for the purpose of defraying the expenses of that authority) shall be paid into and form one Consolidated Fund.”
Article 217 stipulates that money cannot be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except: “(a) to meet expenditure that is charged upon the Fund by this Constitution or by any Act of Parliament; or (b) where the issue of those (sums of) money has been authorised by an Appropriation Act; or (c) where the issue of those (sums of) money has been authorised under Article 219.”
Besides money not being returned to the Fund in the stipulated manner, Government has been red-flagged by the Auditor General’s office time and time again for not using the Consolidated Fund in a rightful manner.
Over the past few years, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament under the leadership of Chairman and now People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Presidential Candidate Dr Irfaan Ali, has been reading the riot act to various agencies for similar infractions.
After the Auditor General’s report for 2018 was handed over in October amid political uncertainty regarding sittings of the National Assembly, PAC members had urged that the parliamentary opposition’s absence from the house not be used as an excuse to duck the report.
But with Parliament dissolved since December 30, 2019, in order to pave the way for elections on March 2, 2020, it is unclear when the Audit Report’s findings will be dealt with by a fully-constituted PAC.