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Securing Internal Auditor high on City Hall’s agenda

Mar 28, 2009 News

Recognising the need for an Internal Auditor at the Georgetown municipality, efforts are being made as a matter of urgency, to employ a suitable person to fill the vacant position.
Public Relations Officer (ag), Debra Lewis, in an invited comment yesterday, said that the municipality has been without the services of an Internal Auditor for over one year. She said that one Ms. Euna Williams was the last person to have filled the capacity but has since retired leaving the post vacant.
City Mayor Hamilton Green has said that should the vacancy not be filled in the very near future, there may be considerations to rehire Williams. According to Lewis, the Internal Auditor is charged primarily with auditing the records and accounts of the municipality.
It was disclosed that during her time at the city entity, Williams had in fact detected a number of financial discrepancies, which were repeatedly brought to the attention of management.
However, while the discrepancies were acknowledged, no action was ever taken internally to rectify the situation.
And such discrepancies were for several years highlighted each year by the Auditor General reports, a revelation which gained national attention last year when Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Kellawan Lall, was forced to intervene.
As part of his intervention, the Minister introduced a Commission of Inquiry and appointed Mr Keith Burrowes as its Chairman.
The inquiry process commenced last September and according to Burrowes, a report on his findings and recommendations will be completed shortly.
The report will outline recommendations that, if utilised, could better the functioning of the Municipality. Another section will focus primarily on the findings of the Auditor General’s Report as they relate to the culpability of offices of the Town Clerk and the City Treasurer. The lack of an Internal Auditor was touted as one of the principal reasons that financial irregularities and mismanagement have been allowed to persist at the Municipality.
Deputy Mayor, Robert Williams, had said that the council in its efforts to get systems in place had recognised the usefulness of an Internal Auditor, a position that does not exist despite the many efforts of the council fill the post.
Williams’s disclosure came during a forum, which saw Burrowes meeting with officers of the Municipality and City Councillors in his quest to get a better insight into the challenges that the institution faces.
The Deputy Mayor at that forum pointed out to Burrowes that the council is cognisant of the fact that it cannot function well without certain positions being filled and certain responsibilities being delegated.
He noted that the operation of the council is significantly challenged because of the absence of an Internal Auditor.  “Even if we try to rectify certain situations the person whom we expect as a council to initiate the examination is yet to be replaced having retired.”
Against this background, Williams noted that it is hoped that the Commission of Inquiry could speak to the question of ownership and relationship between and among Departments even as he hinted to levels of ineptness within the system.
According to him, it is common knowledge that there is a system in place whereby Heads of Department meet at least once a fortnight to discuss matters relevant to the improvement of the Municipality and to examine the decisions of council and determine the best method of implementation.
However, there have been shortcomings in this system relating to satisfying the services that citizens expect.
Nonetheless, Williams noted that the council as a corporate body has been managing the affairs of the Municipality in terms of its policies consistent with the by-laws and consistent with corporate policies in the absence of an Auditor General.

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