THE Ministry of Communities has sought to clear the air on several facts related to the audit that was conducted into grants made to the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), following the Mayor’s declaration that the audit was unprofessional and disrespectful.The ministry issued a statement on Thursday in response to an article appearing in the press headlined, “Mayor miffed at ‘disrespectful’ audit into $300M subvention.”

The Ministry noted that it is in no way involved in an investigation at the municipality but is in fact collecting data in preparation of a response to audit queries stemming from the 2015 Auditor General’s Report.

“The Ministry also wishes to note that at this stage, there is no basis on which to launch an investigation. Further, it is required of the Permanent Secretary to account for all expenditure under the Ministry of Communities, irrespective of where it was spent.”

According to the statement, it is also normal procedure for queries raised in the Auditor General’s Report to be resolved before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) starts its work, which is done in conjunction with the Auditor General and the Accountant General’s Office.

In 2015, the M&CC received two grants appropriated under the Ministry’s Capital Programme to be used for the “Georgetown Restoration Programme” and the “Emergency Solid Waste Management of Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill” amounting to $300M and $100M respectively. Each grant was based on a separately signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communities and the Town Clerk of the M&CC.

The Auditor General’s Report has since found several “discrepancies” in the way the allotted $300M to the City Council was spent during the year. After a total of 212 payment vouchers were examined, a number of discrepancies were found including that there were 167 instances, totaling $159.968M, where there was no evidence of the payment vouchers being certified by the accountant or any other authorised officer. Further, approval by the City Treasurer was not seen on 140 payment vouchers totaling $143.682M.

According to the report, there was also no evidence of the Finance Committee approving 58 payments totaling 48.404M, and no evidence of receipt or payee acknowledgement for a payment of $750,000 to a contractor via cheque #164407587.

“The basis of award of several contracts for the weeding of parapets, desilting of drains and cutting down of trees in various areas around Georgetown could not be determined due to the unavailability of the relevant supporting documents,” the report further noted, and as a result, it could not be ascertained whether proper transparency and accountability was exercised in the awarding of contracts.

Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan had recently requested a financial statement from the City Council because he said he saw the need for a perusal of such in order to enable proper decision-making. A source had told this newspaper that the minister was provided the statement by the mayor, and he has since concluded that the City Council is not in a financial crisis that the public is led to believe.

The Ministry has reiterated its “absolute regard” for the authority and autonomy of local organs and said it would in no way impinge or circumvent the council’s work. The Ministry said it will also firmly apply the relevant procedures to ensure the highest standards of accountability.