Forensic audit to be conducted into GCAA – Director General

Dec 28, 2016 News

With Expressions of Interest already submitted for a study to determine the impact of Air Transport on the national economy, a forensic audit is also expected to be conducted into the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Director General of GCAA, Colonel (Ret’d) Egbert Field

This was confirmed by the Director General of the Authority, Colonel (Retired) Egbert Field.
The Director General told Kaieteur News that the audit is in its embryonic stage – the process of being tendered – and though he could not definitively state the scope of the audit, he said that the authority is hoping to go back as far as ten years.
This would, however, have to be finalised, following discussions with the selected company/firm, he asserted.
Quizzed on what prompted the idea to have an audit into the agency, Col. Field stated that it was his idea, and emphasised that his decision had nothing to do with ‘any reports of wrongdoing ‘at the state-owned entity. The audit, he added, will be done to determine the ‘financial and managerial’ status of the authority.
Col. Field, who served as a pilot in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), said that his intention to have an audit into the agency was further augmented following his appointment as the Head of the Authority back in August of this year.
“It has nothing to do with wrongdoing. It’s like moving into a new home; you want to make sure that the windows and facilities are in the right place, you want to make sure that everything is where it needs to be so that the entity can function efficiently and effectively,” the Director General expounded.
Col. Field’s confirmation of the audit would come days after he informed media operatives and members of the authority about his intention to transform the GCAA into one of the finest in the Caribbean, while emphasising his strong stance against corruption.
He had revealed that there were several negative remarks being levelled against the agency. He subsequently gave his assurance that the entity will be moving to “better skies” and to be the agency that it was intended to be – to revolutionise the aviation sector.
Col. Field said that his intention is to steer the Authority in the right path as was previously recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
He told his peers that to achieve this goal, there needs to be a collaborative effort.
“We are going to move ahead as a family, and with that collaboration within the authority, we are going to make this authority one of the best authorities,” he had stated previously.
The GCAA was formerly the Civil Aviation Department in the Ministry of Public Works and Communications. It was established in March 2002 as a result of the Civil Aviation Act 2000 being approved by Parliament.
Its functions include the issuing of operating licences and the monitoring of performance of all Pilots, Air Traffic Controllers and Aircraft Maintenance Engineers; conducting initial inspections and certifications and providing continued surveillance of all Guyanese air operators wherever they may be operating.
The entity is also responsible for conducting initial inspections and certification and providing continued surveillance and auditing of aerodrome and airport operators in Guyana to ensure that national and international standards are maintained.
Among the GCAA’s other functions are the monitoring of operations of all foreign operators in Guyana’s airspace and all Guyanese operators doing business overseas to ensure that national and international standards are maintained; and conducting investigations into incidents and accidents involving Guyanese registered aircrafts, and foreign-registered aircraft in Guyana’s airspace.