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Municipalities, NDCs flout law – millions disbursed without accountability
(Kaieteur News) – The 2024 Auditor General’s report has once again exposed a troubling pattern of financial lawlessness among Guyana’s municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs). Year after year, these bodies fail to submit their accounts for audit, blatantly defying the Municipal and District Councils Act (Chapter 28:01) and the Local Government Act (Chapter 28:02).
That section states“…all accounts of Municipal and District Councils be made up yearly to the end of the financial year by the treasurer of the council and shall be so made up not later than four months after the end of such year to which they relate and for those accounts to be audited by the Auditor as soon as practicable”.
Despite receiving millions in government subventions, the breach is persistent. In 2024 alone, the Ministry transferred $160.185 million to municipalities and $350 million to NDCs. Yet, many councils failed to comply with the legal requirement to produce annual financial statements for audit.
The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) stands out as a repeat offender. Having received $30 million in 2024, the council still has outstanding statements dating back to 2006, 2008–2011, 2017, and 2020–2022. Shockingly, Georgetown has not been audited since 2004. The Auditor General’s report urges the ministry and budget agencies to enforce compliance and ensure that proper, complete financial statements are submitted for scrutiny. Previous reports, including the 2022 audit, highlighted the same failures—yet the pattern continues unabated. With billions allocated for municipal and local council operations, the lack of accountability raises serious questions about governance, transparency, and public trust.
Additionally, the report noted the sum of $1 billion was budgeted for the provision of subvention to Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils. According to the Appropriation Accounts, the full amount was expended as at 31 December 2024.
However, it was pointed out the NDCs continued to be in breach of the Local Government Act, Chapter 28:02 of the Laws of Guyana, which stipulated that “…the accounts of Neighbourhood Democratic Councils to be made up annually”. According to Section 134(1) of the said Act, the Auditor General may at any time audit the accounts of the Councils. It should be noted that the Ministry transferred sums totalling $350M to the Councils in 2024. The 2022 Auditor General report had similar findings.
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