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$203M in furniture, equipment missing from Public Security Ministry – AG report
The rusty chairs and cabinets received by the GFS in 2019.
Kaieteur News – Details from the recently laid Auditor General (AG) Report show that some $203M in equipment and furniture are missing from several government agencies under the Ministry of Public Security.
According to the report, the sum of $657.700M was budgeted for the procurement of office furniture, equipment, agricultural tools, communication and other equipment for the Ministry’s Policy Development and Administration (PDA), Guyana Police Force (GPF), Prison Services, Guyana Fire Services (GFS), Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) and the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).
It stated that figures from the appropriation accounts, amounts totalling $649.566M were expended during the year with purchase of tools and other equipment under the Prison Services at $302M; the purchase of communication, musical and other equipment for the GPF at $249M; the purchase of tools, office furniture and communication for the GFS at $42M; the purchase of equipment and furniture for the PDA at $37M; the retention for building, furniture and equipment for CANU at $14M; and the purchase of computers and printers for the PCA at $3M.
The report went on to indicate that audit examinations of 123 payment vouchers totalling $315.864M in respect of equipment and furniture purchased revealed that 56 of the payment vouchers totalling $202.616M had no stores documentation. It is against this circumstance that the AG report could not determine whether the items purchased were delivered.
“At the time of reporting, items valued $202.392M paid for were yet to be delivered to the Ministry of Public Security. The items included furniture, office and medical equipment,” it said.
As part of their recommendations, the Audit Office had recommended that the Public Security Ministry comply fully with the Stores Regulations “at all times”, to which the ministry’s Head of Budget acknowledged and agreed.
Meanwhile, the report indicated that a physical inspection was carried out at nine fire stations (out-stations), and it was revealed that no records were maintained for the receipt of assets. “In one instance” the report states, “the station officer at an out-station denied receiving items” but then later went on to point out rusty chairs and a broken cabinet as being received in 2019.
With regards to the GPF, the report states that amounts totalling $255M were budgeted for the purchases of arms and ammunition, fingerprint, ballistic, photographic, handwriting, communication, narcotics, intelligence traffic, crime screen, musical equipment and furniture and equipment.
According to the appropriation accounts, amounts totalling $249.426M were expended as at 31st December 2019. However, a physical verification of capital purchases valuing $132.447M, revealed that the items purchases for 2019 could not be verified since they were not marked as property of the force, the AG highlights. “As a result, the Ministry is in breach of Section 28 of the Stores Regulations.”
With regards to the GPS, it was indicated that amounts totalling $140.076M were expended on the purchase of cables, phones, shredders, fax machines, cartridges, batons, riot shields and others for the agency. But at the time of reporting, the assets were still not received.
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