MONTHS after a forensic audit in the Student Loan Agency at the University of Guyana (UG) revealed billions of dollars in default payments, government will be going after those who have defaulted on their payments. Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman, made the announcement before the press corps on Thursday following a Tuesday cabinet meeting. Finance Minister Winston Jordan was tasked with chairing a subcommittee to consider the forensic audit report.
That subcommittee made a number of recommendations on how to collect outstanding monies, but Trotman was tightlipped on naming those recommendations.
Instead, Minister Winston Jordan was tasked by Cabinet to announce those measures for collecting monies. Recommendations in that report included a reorganiSation of the loan agency’s structure and business procedure , so the entity could be made compliant with auditing and accounting frameworks.
Other measures include changes in the application, guarantee, and repayment processes. Trotman said in the spirit of Guyana’s Golden Jubilee, some generosity will be , as “there are conditions for excusing, or not insisting on payments of some things.”
He was cautious not to relinquish further information on the matter. A number of high –profile Guyanese were named on the list of loan defaulters published by the Finance Ministry in May of this year. Included are political leaders, judges, magistrates, and other high-ranking public-sector officials.
Trotman said while there are high –profile Guyanese on the default payment list, “I believe we are not looking at the profile they are holding now. We are looking at the fact that they were students of the University of Guyana and should be treated fairly and equally.”
Trotman denied there will be attempts to waive payments for persons who are close to the David Granger administration.
Thus far, since the beginning of the Student Loan Agency in the mid-1990s, $679.9M of the $9.4B pumped into the fund has been repaid. And of the 25,000-plus beneficiaries of this facility, only seven per cent have repaid their loans.
The Finance Ministry was advised some time ago to have formal letters sent to defaulting students, reminding them of their obligation to repay their loans.
The auditors, R. Seebarran and Co, Chartered Accountants, also recommended legal proceedings for persons who failed in their obligations.
The Student Loan Agency was established in 1995 to manage the Student Loan Account, and not a Student Revolving Fund Account.
Currently, the agency falls under the direct supervision of the Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, but its day-to-day affairs are managed by the agency’s head, Rawle Sue-Ho, supported by nine full-time staff members.
The UG’s Tain campus however has one staff member who provides support throughout the year. Sue-Ho, who has been managing the Student Loan Agency for more than 15 years, informed the auditors that his department is not equipped to pursue defaulters.