THE Government of Guyana fully supports the work of the Guyana Audit Office and has accordingly supported efforts to enhance transparency in public accounting and spending of tax payers’ dollars.

This is according to Dr. Nanda Gopaul, Minister of Labour, who was at the time speaking at the Audit Office of Guyana Annual Staff Conference and Social 2012.
He noted that over the years government has made significant strides in improving the conditions at the Audit Office to better facilitate the smooth flow of work and transparency.
“The autonomy the audit office has in Guyana is, comparable speaking, second to none in any part of the Caribbean and even when you look at the Commonwealth; you may find very few have that degree of autonomy. Additionally, the Auditor General’s independence is preserved in the Constitution of Guyana, so much so he is answerable to absolutely no one. In his functioning, he’s under the control of no one and that must be seen as a sign of a healthy democracy,” the minister posited.
Dr. Gopual noted that the fruit of this has been timely, consistent and meaningful reports from the Office of the Auditor General over the past two decades, as opposed to reports reflecting years of no audits.
The minister noted that the Auditor General’s recent reports have been criticised for not being insightful and examining issues thoroughly.
“A few critics who will want to find faults and bore holes in the audit reports and who want to question the independence and the integrity of these report…perhaps these critics would like to see a report not based on facts and evidence, but being critical for criticism sake…We can never satisfy everyone, but we work based on our professionalism, integrity and issues that we have to deal with consistent with the nature of our jobs. Once you pursue your tasks in that diligent and professional way, even though criticisms will come your way from time to time, at the end you will see the results,” Dr. Gopaul emphasised.
He urged the staff not to be distracted by negativity because the fact that the Auditor General’s report is attracting so much attention means it is purposeful.
“You must continue to strive for excellence and improve what you are doing. I am pleased with what I am hearing that more forensic audits will be done, contracts will be examined and this government supports aspects of work that will make the system as transparent as possible and that will weed out corruption as far as possible.
“In no system around the world can you say that there is no corruption and I’ll be the last to say that we don’t have corrupt practices in the public service but as far as is possible, the Audit Office is playing its part in working to eliminate areas that can give cause for concern and areas that need improvement…,” the minister stated.
As such, he indicated that the government has no difficulty in the Audit Office probing, as much as possible, the work and systems deployed by Government in accounting for public funds.
“We support the efforts of the Audit Office in cleaning up whatever areas there may be that need that clean up…we in the government are not averse to the audit office working diligently, professionally and moving to clean up areas of concern to government because we believe that the tax payers money, the people’s money, must be spent in the interest of the country and those whom we serve. It’s only when you have checks and balances coming from an important office as yours [Auditor General’s] can we feel safe,” the minister stressed.
He also dismissed speculations that the current Auditor General, Mr. Deodat Sharma is unqualified for his post, noting that Sharma meets the job requirements and brings a wealth of experience to the table.
Commending the Audit Office staff for their professionalism and hard work during the past year, the minister cautioned them against adapting the trend of absenteeism and lateness, as well as disregard for occupational safety and health in the workplace.
The Guyana Audit Office distributed 60 honourary awards for outstanding and long service at the Staff Conference. The Auditor General Deodat Sharma,  Lakeram Ramkoomar and Enid Young were honoured for having more than 30 years of service within the Office, while 10 staff were awarded for more than 25 years of service, 10 for more than 20 years of service and 23 staff were recognized for having 15 years and more service.
The Best Worker Awards went to Cardicia Harry, Sheriffa Raheem and Seama Rohit, while the Best Support Staff awards went to Leona Persaud, Shabena Kadir, and Desrey James.
The Auditor General’s Award for Best Worker was copped by Kaloutie Jaikaran and the runner up was Arun Gopaul.