Transactional audit …SOCU handed over NICIL documents to Audit Office since last year

Jan 25, 2017 News

The Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) recently sought to set the record straight that it is more than cooperating with the Audit Office to ensure the speedy completion of a transactional audit.
This perspective from SOCU comes on the heels of accusations that it is hampering the smooth flow of the audit into the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) which was launched over 10 months by the Government.
It was NICIL’s Officer in Charge, Horace James, who told Kaieteur News that one of the constraints affecting the smooth flow of the audit is that original documents from the company are tied up in investigations being conducted by SOCU. James said he was made aware of this state of affairs after the company wrote to Auditor General Deodat Sharma, requesting an update on the audit.
James said that both SOCU and the AG’s office would require the use of original documents given the seriousness of the probes. He noted that while the audit at Sharma’s office is being “held back”, he anticipates that it would be finished by mid-year.
On the contrary, this newspaper saw correspondence which showed that the original documents, as requested by NICIL and the Auditor General’s office, were handed over since last November.
The investigations by SOCU and the transactional audit by the AG’s office were as a result of the damning findings stemming from a forensic audit into NICIL by Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran.
During the forensic audit, Goolsarran discovered that in relation to the expenditure on the 2007 Cricket World Cup, NICIL had transferred amounts totaling $650 million to the Local Organizing Committee, but failed in its responsibility of ensuring that there was proper accountability for the amounts transferred.
As regards the construction of the controversial 44 High Street property, the forensic auditor found that the contract was awarded in 2007, but at the time of reporting, the building remained substantially incomplete. Goolsarran stated in his report that the building was abandoned, and the structure was expected to be torn down because the floors were not constructed to the required specifications. As the “Project Executing Unit”, he said that NICIL’s role was to ensure that the works were executed according to the agreed specifications, and the entity had again failed to discharge its responsibility for this project, resulting in some $350 million of taxpayers’ funds being wasted.
Goolsarran in his report also stated that despite the size and complexity of its operations, NICIL does not have its own procurement rules, which is key requirement of the Procurement Act. In the circumstances, he said that it would have been more appropriate for NICL to involve the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) in the assessment of tenders received for the award of contracts. Instead, the assessment of bids was done internally and would have lacked the level of independence, especially for large projects such as the Marriott Hotel.
Given the aforementioned findings among others, Goolsarran recommended that Government commission a further independent audit to examine in detail transactions over the last six years under NICIL. He also recommended that the relevant authorities institute criminal/disciplinary actions against all those responsible for other violations, including the failure to properly account for State resources under their control.

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Transactional audit …SOCU handed over NICIL documents to Audit Office since last year

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Transactional audit …SOCU handed over NICIL documents to Audit Office since last year

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