Public Works Ministry pays out $280M to staff under line item that deals with maintenance of road

Jan 13, 2022 News

– AG report finds

Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Public Works in 2020 paid in excess of $288 million to staff who were not catered for in the ‘Employment Costs’ under the Approved Estimates of Current Expenditure for 2020, via which provisions can be made for the payment of wages and salaries to contracted and temporary employees.

Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill

This is according to the Auditor General’s (AG) Report of 2020.
The AG, Deodat Sharma, in the document detailed that the sum was as a result of an increase of 114 employees, which represented approximately 131 percent from the eighty-seven employed as at December 2019.
It added the sum expended in 2020 included amounts totalling $32.358M and $19.162M, which were deducted and paid to the National Insurance Scheme and Guyana Revenue Authority, respectively.
However, the employees were not included in the Approved Estimates of Current Expenditure for 2020, under employment costs. As a result, the Ministry’s expenditure for ‘Employment Costs’ was understated by the sum of $288.075M. “It should be noted that a similar situation existed in 2019,” the Report highlighted.
In response, the Ministry explained that the employment cost for the Special Projects Unit (SPU) was catered for under the Maintenance of Road line head for the year 2020 and not under the Ministry of Public Works Employment Cost.
It said that the employees of the SPU are temporarily employed and are daily rated workers for which there is currently no other appropriate line head to cater for such employment. It added the cost is also considered a component of maintaining roads, hence further reason for allocating it to that line head.
Moreover, the Ministry reasoned it has always been the practice to cater for wages from this line item head, which continuously gained approval from the Ministry of Finance.
In flagging yet another matter with regard to the staff in the SPU, the AG reported that the personal emoluments of 19 employees who are skilled or semi-skilled were paid under this Line Item. “However, it should be noted that Line Item 6115 caters for semi-skilled and unskilled staff. Moreover, the designations for 16 of the 19 employees are on the ‘List of Approved Positions’ under the Ministry, as contained in the National Estimates of Expenditure,” the report added.
In responding to the findings of the AG, the Ministry said that the Head of Budget Agency stated that employment within SPU is generally temporary – one-year durations. As such, it cannot be effectively captured under line-item 6115 which deals with the employment of unskilled and semi-skilled workers, who are either permanent or in the process of becoming permanent, as transitioning to the pensionable establishment.
The Public Works Ministry further explained that due to the unconventional work , capacity and hours which generally leads to overtime, is not catered for under line item 6115 head. In addition, the government agency pointed out that there are a few skilled employees working under the SPU and that the matter has gained the attention of the relevant parties.
In this regard, the Ministry assured there is a joint effort between the Public Service Ministry and the Ministry of Public Works to transfer those employees. Additionally, conditions of SPU contracts restrain employees from receiving certain employment benefits. As such, the rectification of this matter is actively being considered.
As a consequence, the Audit Office again recommended that the Head of Budget Agency ensure propriety of expenditure is considered when the Ministry’s Budget is being prepared.

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