Overpaid cops still to return money -AG report

Jan 10, 2022 News

Kaieteur News- The Guyana Police Force is yet to recoup millions of dollars overpaid to former ranks as well as funds remitted in their names to the National Insurance Scheme, (NIS) the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and other agencies, the Auditor General Report 2020 has highlighted.
The ranks in question had resigned or were fired from the Guyana Police Force (GPF). According to the AG report for the year 2020, the GPF which has for years been plagued with issues relating to the overpayment of salaries to staff, is now looking to go after those ranks and those who were overpaid and have not returned the money.
The report noted that some 176 officers who severed employment with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for various reasons were still paid on 14 instances totaling $1.308M.
The AG Report also pointed to related deductions of $91,423, $84,498 and $164,298 which were also overpaid to GRA, NIS and other deduction agencies. Similarly, for the years 2010 to 2012, 2017, 2018 and 2019 the Force is still to recover outstanding amounts totalling $12.396M, which were overpaid in salaries and deduction.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Calvin Brutus.

These overpayments were as a result of directives to payroll changes not being forwarded in a timely manner to the Central Accounting Unit of the Force. According to the report, the Force explained that efforts are ongoing to recover the overpayments. The Force committed to a policy decision in respect of members of the Force whose services are terminated and were overpaid salaries that Divisional Branch Commanders are to be surcharged for their negligence.
In addition, the Audit Office recommended that the ministry continues its effort to recover the sums overpaid and to ensure systems are put in place for payroll change directives to be forwarded in a timely manner to the Central Accounting Unit of the Force in order to minimise overpayments. Earlier this year, during a sitting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Committee examined the Auditor General’s 2016 findings on the Ministry of Public Security, now renamed Ministry of Home Affairs, which outlined that the GPF is still to recover some $2.264 million for salaries that were overpaid to employees of the Force between 2010 and 2012.
Back then, the Audit Office had also recommended a number of measures designed at improving systems at the GPF, which would have helped with overpayments.
But according to the Ministry, only 67 per cent of these recommendations were implemented as of 2016, with 33 per cent partially implemented.

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