City Hall has not been audited in three years - CoI

City Hall has not been audited in three years – CoI

Oct 06, 2018 News

Internal Auditor of M&CC, Umoja-Newton, testifying at the CoI

The Mayor and City Council has not had financial audits into its affairs for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018.

This is according to Internal Auditor for City Hall, Omodele Umoja-Newton, who, yesterday, testified at the Commission of Inquiry into the Mayor and City Council.

Chapter 28:01 of the Laws of Guyana states, “The City Council and the Town Council shall, not later than the thirty-first day of March in every year submit to the Minister a report in writing containing an account of all monies received, expended and applied during the preceding financial year.”

Pursuant to this aspect of the law, the internal auditor of the Council is expected to complete these audits. She told Justice Kennard that no department of the Council has received completed audits of their financial transactions for 2016, 2017 and 2018. This, she said, is due to the fact that the treasurer has not submitted the supporting documents concerning the finances of the Council’s departments to be audited. The Council has eight departments, namely the Town Clerk’s department, City Constabulary, City Treasury, City Engineers, Human Resources Department, Solid Waste Management, City Public Health and the Markets Department.

Newton said that the departments are supposed to submit the documents concerning all financial transactions to the Treasurer, but that this has not been done.

Newton told Justice Kennard that Ron Mc Calman, the City Treasurer, is usually very difficult to contact and that he is often unavailable. She said that, when she attempts to procure the supporting documents, the employees of that department told her, “You have to wait until the treasurer comes.” She said that the treasurer is non-compliant and that the department he is responsible for is very untidy and poorly kept. She recommends that the system be “tightened” up, specifically that of the Treasury.

The Commission of Inquiry into the affairs of the Mayor and City Council is headed by the Local Government Commission. Its purpose is to examine, advise and report on irregularities of the administration, its operations, and the management of its financial affairs. The Chairman appointed to lead these proceedings is Retired Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Cecil Kennard.