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Audit report
(Kaieteur News) – The 2024 Auditor General Report is soon to be made public, should generate high interest. It would not surprise if there is much of the juicy in it, lots of meat, and who collected more than their rightful share. Another record budget, more lavish spending, and if there was one group of citizens who prospered from both, it was those favored contractors.
Auditor General Deodat Sharma gave the public some idea of what it should expect, through his comments about the conduct of contractors, ministries, and a well-aimed shot at that invisible and untouchable species, consultants. Three of those comments from Guyana’s audit chief indicated a combination of facts as found, and thinly veiled warnings directed at those who didn’t do their duty as they should have.
To begin with, according to Sharma, “the contractors do not dispute the audit office in terms of our findings we have been finding through the engineering department overpayments, they are still there and that’s an area we will have to try to improve in terms of I prefer prevention is better than cure.” How to interpret contractors not disputing overpayments found?
What to think of the engineering departments at various ministries and other government agencies that facilitate such overpayments? We think that because there are so many Guyanese eyes focused on ongoing delays, cost overruns, and shoddy results, the erring contractors prefer issues with overpayment to go away as quickly as possible.
Why make a fuss, and prolong unwanted and inconvenient attention on one’s head, when overpayments that are questioned and have to be returned and can be more than recovered through some other scheme? Easy squeeze causes no riot is an old Guyanese maxim, and help tricky matters to disappear. The other issue of concern is how much engineering oversight these various engineering departments that have some involvement with public works projects are actually doing.
Due to the occasional parliamentary revelations, Guyanese get a glimpse of the network of conspirators that are embedded in projects, and how they operate. That is, feed each other, lookout for and take care of each other.
Sharma’s next target is even more interesting, revealing. “So you need to hold those consultants responsible if you could get that being done, then I think when there is an overpayment, not only the accounting officer we could hold responsible but also the consultants.” Supervisory consultants and managing consultants, among various iterations of consultants, have been a mystery to Guyanese who foot the bill for their expensive services.
What do they really do? How much value do they add? What claim can they offer on behalf of themselves that they have earned the millions paid to them to be the eyes and ears of Guyanese taxpayers?
The fact that Auditor General Sharma felt it necessary to give consultants special mention, as in they must be held responsible, seemingly indicates that a worrying number of them failed to live up to their name. Whenever that happens, there is one group of losers, Guyanese taxpayers. Consultants need to start shaping up and putting up, or they should be held accountable, when project failures (delays, poor work, and so forth) occur. It is either that this becomes the norm, or the free for all with tax dollars will continue unabated.
The Auditor General had some positives to share. He said that “the number of recommendations have (sic) now been reduced tremendously, there have been improvements in terms of logbooks almost all ministries have been presented their logbooks, there have been improvements in terms of fuel management.”
Reduction in recommendations normally signifies a reduction in findings or gaps, which is encouraging. On the issue of most ministries presenting their logbooks, that can be received two ways. Ministries have tightened their procedures and practices, or that some special skills have been developed in the compilation of those same logbooks.
Rigorous testing by the Audit Office could put that one to bed. Fuel management has always been a source of enticement, since so much money is involved, so many hands are in the rich mixture. Timely and continuing completion of logbooks can contribute tremendously when done honestly. When the Audit Office digs deep, taxpayers get value.
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