Rapid assessment team unearths “gross financial mismanagement” at state agencies

…report to be presented to President on Wednesday

The high-level “rapid assessment team” commissioned by President Irfaan Ali has discovered gross mismanagement of financial resources at the various State entities they reviewed and are expected to present their report by Wednesday.

This was revealed by a source, who indicated that the review is completed and the team is in the process of compiling its report.

President Ali appointed the team days after being sworn in as President and tasked them with the responsibility of reviewing operations of Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), Guyana Gold Board (GGB), the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), the Lotto Fund, the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), the Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil), the Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC), the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
The team comprising of Certified Public Accountant, Nigel Hinds; Chartered Accountant and attorney-at-law, Chris Ram; Financial Consultant, Sasenarine Singh and Public Communications Consultant, Kit Nascimento reviewed the operations, policies and programmes of the Department of Public Information (DPI), the National Communications Network Incorporated (NCN) and the Guyana National Newspaper Limited (Guyana Chronicle) as well as the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA).

Meanwhile, during an interview with this publication over the weekend, Nascimento told this publication that the team has received the full cooperation of the heads of the various agencies and explained that the process was one aimed at gathering information to assess the organisations’ fitness to manage their affairs and execute its functions.
“We are looking for everything to make sure that they are financially sound and to make sure that they are properly managed…You got to remember that this is not an audit. This is a review and if the review finds that there is a need for more intensive investigation then it will follow,” he noted.
Nascimento added that the team chose to work pro bono because of the fact that they see it as serving the nation and ensuring transparency and accountability.

Depleted cash
Meanwhile, a source told Guyana Times that almost all of the agencies reviewed were being financially mismanaged.

“Some organisations are struggling to pay their August salaries and we are seeing a severe condition of depleted cash on all fronts. Political interference in the management function is also key flashpoint that people (the team members) are finding. There are cases where Board members pushing themselves to act as management staff,” he explained.
This newspaper understands that one of the reasons President Ali commissioned the review is to get a better understanding of the agencies’ functioning over the past five years while also looking at the management styles of those in charge. It is believed that there will be major shakeups when the report is tabled owing to the fact that many of the Board members for the State agencies are inserting themselves as managers.
The team found that in one instance a Board member at a particular State agency appointed themself as manager as well. In addition to interfering with the day to day operations of the various agencies, the team also found that several senior managers also accumulated leave which should be taken.
Ultimately, the team was tasked with establishing whether the agencies have the financial capabilities to pay salaries for August, to ensure a seamless transition from the old Board to new, and to protect the assets of the agencies.

Recommendations
It was reported that there are several recommendations for each of the assessed agency. Among those recommendations is the fact that every State Board ought to be recalibrated to reflect the true needs of that agency.
“A Board is not supposed to get into day to day management of any organisation and what the team found is that the Board is involved in the day to day management of the organisation and what that does is it weakens their independence so they can’t hold the organisations accountable because they can’t hold themselves accountable,” the source related.
It was explained that there is no adequate separation of functions from the Board and Administration and that is the major contributing factor to the current fiscal state of the agencies.
“The team recommend that all Board members must be replaced with fresh Boards. They are also recommending that the skillset for the Board be there,” the source said, adding that the common trend the team discovered was that the various State Boards were highly politicised and lacked the professional experience required for leading the agencies.
After the APNU/AFC coalition had won the 2015 National Elections by a razor-thin majority, it had embarked on a process that saw many senior public officials being terminated on the basis of their perceived political allegiance.
However, senior officials of the PPP/C have repeatedly assured that they will not embark on this route once the party settles in to office.
The APNU/AFC had described the formation of the team as a “PPP Witch Hunt Squad.” Notably, however, some of the same individuals – Hinds, Ram – were part of an audit team for the APNU/AFC following the 2015 elections. (G2)