Dear Editor,
PLEASE allow me some space in your newspaper to register my frustration and disappointment at the behaviour of the Audit Office of Guyana and the Auditor General, Mr Deodat Sharma. It was sometime early in August last year that a teacher had written to the AG requesting an audit of the Guyana Teachers Union.

Editor, the teacher’s request was premised on the fact that the GTU has not been audited, reportedly since 1989, that is 30 years or three decades ago.  Mr Sharma subsequently confirmed that he had received such a request.  Editor, it is very baffling that an agency that is mandated to undertake such exercises is displaying such contempt to such a serious matter. There has not been a single line or a word coming from the AG explaining what is the status of that request to date.

I think the AG owes this nation an explanation as to why the office that he heads is dragging its feet with regards to the auditing of the GTU. One wonders if he is too busy attending functions, like the one Charandass Persaud had in the USA recently, hence his inability to complete important works.

Editor, this is the magnitude of what is confronting this nation with respect to the GTU. Since the union has not been audited since 1989 and its annual union dues are somewhere in the region of $42M, it therefore means that over $1.2B was collected by the GTU from teachers during that period and no one knows, except the GTU, what those monies were used for.

Editor, this is not a personal attack on the GTU, in fact, I laud the pressure the union exerted when it was negotiating with the Ministry of Education for the most recent teachers’ multi-year agreement. It is due diligence that I want to see as a citizen not even a corner shop will operate for such a long time without auditing what is going on with their business.

Editor, when the request was made to the AG, the GTU President, Mr. Mark Lyte and the ever outspoken General Secretary, Ms. Coretta Mc Donald, said that they will welcome such an audit by the AG’s office. So these officials are more or less inviting the AoG to audit the GTU’s books. It is clear that there are no impediments that can stymie this audit, so the Audit Office of Guyana should conduct this audit soon.

Editor, I want to make it pellucid that I will also be sending a copy of this letter to the AG’s office and, hopefully, some answers will be provided. I am prepared to continue to dwell on this matter until and unless some action is taken and answers provided to the teachers and this nation by Mr Deodat Sharma.
Regards
Elizabeth Williams