9,000 out of 11,000 citizens who qualified for COVID-19 relief did not get money

Dec 14, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Approximately 9,284 persons out of 11,098 (83%) who gained eligibility for the COVID-19 Pandemic Assistance Voucher, a programme that was undertaken by the former APNU/AFC Coalition Government (Coalition) did not receive anything. This is according to the findings reported by the Office of Auditor General (AG).
According to the AG report, a performance audit was conducted on the Coalition’s relief voucher programme for the period March to September 2020 and found that only slightly over 1,000 persons received vouchers.
It was explained that under the former Government had provided economic relief to citizens during the pandemic via the COVID-19 Pandemic Assistance Voucher Programme. Eligible persons received toiletries, food and sanitary supplies, by way of a voucher which valued between $25,000 and $32,000. The vouchers were for residents in Regions 2, 3,4,5,6 and 10.
Kaieteur News calculates that the unpaid persons, using an even 9,000 of the qualified and a flat $25,000 per person, amounts to GY$225 million in relief funds not handed over to strapped citizens.
It should be noted that this programme was funded through the allocation of funds from the budget for the financial year 2020 of the various agencies responsible for the management of the Programme. This programme was a collaborative effort between the Ministries of Finance, Communities and Social Protection; and the National Data Management Authority and the Civil Defence Commission.
“Officials processed COVID-19 vouchers in line with the programme guidelines. However, significant gaps were noted during the conduct of the audit. Officials of the National Data Management Authority did not respond to the audit findings,” the report noted.
The AG Office stated that what they found was that under this programme is that “People who needed assistance were denied. Over 9,000 out of 11,000 qualified applicants did not receive vouchers, and officials have not explained why. The programme excluded persons in the hinterland regions. Instead, they were promised hampers.”
Persons who were interested in benefiting from the Programme were required to register online. Those without internet access were required to contact either the Ministry of Social Protection or the Ministry of Communities to have their application forms completed. The Programme targeted single-parents, senior citizens, disabled persons, and persons who suffered a loss of income as a result of the pandemic.
Other findings revealed that vouchers worth some $56 million were not verified before they were paid to suppliers. “This weakness could have resulted in overpayment to suppliers and eligible persons not given much needed relief,” the report highlighted.
Further, it was noted that over 3000 unused vouchers valued at least $90 million were left unsecured. The AG report pointed out that as a result of that the vouchers could have been easily accessed and used to obtain items from suppliers.
“Information system was not fully protected. Lack of standard controls put the information system at risk. Therefore, unauthorized persons could have changed or deleted information. In addition, there were no yearly security checks and business continuity and disaster recovery plans prepared,” the AG Office reported.
The Audit Office went onto share that it has since made 13 recommendations to management for improvements and disclosed that that through full implementation of these recommendations, future programmes will be better managed.

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9,000 out of 11,000 citizens who qualified for COVID-19 relief did not get money

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