Govt. not actively considering funding Auditor General’s scrutiny of oil sector

Feb 26, 2018 News

The Government of Guyana is not currently looking to see how it can make finances available to the Office of the Auditor General to carry out additional investigations, particularly in the oil sector.
Guyana is yet to begin audits of the sector in keeping with the country’s petroleum laws.
At the most recent post-Cabinet press briefing, the media asked Minister of State, Joseph Harmon about special considerations for additional funding for the Audit Office.
Harmon responded saying that Auditor General, Deodat Sharma “has to make his case.”
Harmon said that the state does not interfere with or dictate the work of the Audit Office, “therefore the Auditor General must know how he is to fashion his application for funding for the work which he has to do; he has to identify in his framework what it is he needs to do.”

Auditor General, Deodat Sharma

“If he (Sharma) needs to be auditing a new industry, then he has to make a case for new funding for that.”
Harmon also said, “we were in an economy which was based on a few items and now we are moving to another type of economy and therefore all entities including the Auditor General must recognise that and make their application at the appropriate time.”
Auditor General Sharma is on record saying that the shortfall in the cash he requested will stymie the work of the office.
This was following the approval of the annual allocations for constitutional agencies by Parliament’s Committee of Supply.
The National Assembly approved a $783M allocation for the Audit Office for 2018. Sharma lamented the loss of more than $63M in requested funds for that Constitutional Agency, since it will hinder the preparation of the Office to audit the emerging Oil and Gas sector.
“The reduced funds will directly affect my office since we have to shift to doing more work in the Oil and Gas Sector…if you cutting us, you affect us in doing our work including carrying out audits in the new sector.”

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