Govt. hides true value of gifts, billions, received in 2020 - Audit Report

Govt. hides true value of gifts, billions, received in 2020 – Audit Report

Dec 23, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Auditor General (AG), Deodat Sharma, has highlighted a troubling trend in the accounting system for Government, where the true value for gifts received is not recorded.
According to his audit report of 2020, the Government has failed to record the true value of gift received for the year. This issue was also highlighted in the Auditor General’s Report of 2018.

Auditor General, (AG) Deodat Sharma.

According to the report, Section 34 of the Stores Regulations 1993 states that “all gifts received shall be subject to normal store-keeping and received stores accounting procedures…”
However, although there was evidence of the receipts of numerous gifts during the year, there was no evidence of adherence to these procedures. According to the AG, a gift register should be maintained by the storekeeper and the Permanent Secretary, who furnishes the Secretary to the treasury (now Finance Secretary), the Accountant General and the Auditor General with information relating to all gifts received from time to time”.
As a result, the AG said the amount of $5.233 billion representing miscellaneous receipts as at 31 December 2020 was understated by an undetermined amount. The Audit Office therefore recommended that the Ministry of Finance adopt stringent measures to ensure that there is compliance with the stores Regulations.
In response to the issue highlighted by the AG, the Ministry of Finance promised to engage the agencies to encourage enhanced compliance. The Audit Office of Guyana had previously stumbled upon a number of cases during 2018, where Government Ministries and agencies would have collected millions of dollars’ worth of gifts from various sources, but failed to properly account for them.
The Ministry of Finance was cited in the report for not accounting properly for gifts received. The AG noted in his report that Section 34 of the Stores Regulations 1993 states: “all gifts received shall be subject to normal store-keeping and received stores accounting procedures and the procedure set out in the regulations 16 to 19 inclusive shall apply.”
The AG noted too that despite evidence of the Government receiving numerous gifts throughout 2018, there was no evidence of adherence to the procedures set out in the law to ensure transparency and accountability.
In its response, the Ministry of Finance did not dispute the findings but noted that steps are being taken to address the lapses. “The accounting for gifts in accordance with the laid down procedures shall continue to engage the attention of the Ministry of Finance. Three Circulars have already been issued in which the guidelines are clearly set out,” the Ministry said. In its recommendations, the Audit Office urged the Ministry to implement strict measures to ensure compliance with its circulars.
Besides the Ministry of Finance, the Auditor General also cited the Ministry of Public Telecommunications for not adhering to the rules. According to the Audit Office, a gift register was not maintained by the Ministry. “This is a breach of Section 34 of the Stores Regulations of 1993. Furthermore, we could not verify whether proper control was exercised over the use of donations received,” the Audit Office explained. While the law and the Auditor General have oversight for gifts received on behalf of the State, public officials receiving gifts on their own behalf is one of the things addressed in the ministerial code of conduct, which has nevertheless been criticised as being ineffective.