Forensic audit for City Hall
Chairman of the PAC, Irfan Ali listens to the presentation of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities, Emil McGarrell (Adrian Narine photo)
Chairman of the PAC, Irfan Ali listens to the presentation of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities, Emil McGarrell (Adrian Narine photo)

…Auditor General says financial info hard to get from the municipality

AUDITOR General (AG), Deodat Sharma has announced that his office will soon conduct a forensic audit of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown since the management of the municipality has failed to provide important financial information to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Sharma’s decision followed a call by a People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) member of the PAC, Nigel Dharamlall, for a special audit into the M&CC which has failed to account for $174 million. It was reported that Sharma would conduct the forensic audit even if no documents are found. He said unlike regular audits, depending on his findings he would dispatch a report to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for charges to be laid.

Members of the committee at a PAC meeting on Monday, expressed how difficult it was to access information from the council. Chairman of the PAC, Irfan Ali and a member of the committee, Bishop Juan Edghill said the council has failed to present financial reports to the Ministry of Communities and even the AG.

“We cannot continue like this…the M&CC refused blatantly to provide the Auditor General with a report…they cannot verify any expenditure by this agency, so there is nothing in the financial realm and operations of this agency that can be really explained and verified because of the attitude towards not only the Auditor General’s Office but the Ministry,” said Ali.

In light of this, Dharamlall followed up by calling for an intervention by the police and criminal charges to be laid against the treasurer and the Town Clerk, Royston King.
“The Mayor and Councillors also need to be sanctioned because they have authority to expend,” he said. The AG reported that $200 million was transferred to the M&CC for the restoration of Georgetown and by December 31, 2016 the Council reported that capital works had spent 131.382 million- 173.505 million on five projects, and $42.123 million for the purchase of office equipment and furniture.

Those project include, Constabulary Training School $23.096 million; City Engineers building $13.594 million; Constabulary Headquarters building $12.921 million; Kitty Market: G $60.121 million and the Albouystown Clinic $21.580 million.
But, the payment vouchers and other related documents were not presented for audit examination. “We are not getting information since last year to now. I don’t want to preempt so when we go in there, we are going to look at whatever they give us and then make a pronouncement,” said Sharma.

Although the members of the PAC intended to get information on Monday, the Treasurer of the M&CC was not present to answer any questions since he presented a medical to be excused from the meeting. Ali however did not give up on meeting with the treasurer. He asked the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities, Emil McGarrell to ensure that the treasurer is present at a subsequent meeting.

McGarrell was in support of Ali’s decision and he even went on to say that Sharma has the leverage to sanction the treasurer.
There have been growing calls for the sacking of Town Clerk Royston King amidst a growing fallout between city councillors and the administration at City Hall. The PNCR Central Executive Committee has also expressed concerns over the public conduct of Mayor Patricia Chase-Green.

In a correspondence seen by this newspaper last week, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan told Chase-Green that at a Central Executive Committee meeting on February 7, 2018 concerns were expressed about her public conduct. “Madam Mayor, on 2018.02.07 at a meeting of the members of the Central Executive Committee of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), be informed that concerns were expressed about your public conduct generally, with specific reference to your public utterances which may be construed only as confrontational to the office and/or the person holding the office of the Minister of Communities, and the effects and implications of such conduct.

“Further, on 2018.02.10 at a meeting of the General Council of the PNCR, a delegate and councillor called for the removal of the Town Clerk (TC) of the City of Georgetown. That call was premised on the opinion of the delegate that the TC’s conduct, deportment, and actions constitute an embarrassment to the administration” Bulkan told Chase-Green in the letter.

Minister Bulkan also called on the Mayor to provide information relative to business transactions made by the Council. “Be informed that I require the following: a complete list of all contracts, leases, sales, and any other transactions involving assets (real estate, equipment, etc.) under the control of Council, between the date of assuming office in April 2016 to the present,” the letter stated.

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