AN audit report into the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) has revealed that on the direction of the Cabinet, the unit was instructed to meet expenditures for the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) and the E-Government Project. Revenues collected by the agency are properly public moneys payable into the Consolidated Fund.
“For the period 2010 to May, 2015, over $1.6 billion was paid for administrative expenses of the two projects, representing 84 per cent of the unit’s revenue. Applying section 33 of the Public Corporations Act, the NFMU does not have the authority to meet those expenditures, since they were not incurred by the unit. Apparently, failing to appreciate the precedence of statute over “Government policy,” the management of the NFMU misguidedly continues to justify the statutory violation,” the report said.
The report also disclosed that E-Networks Inc and Quark Inc, companies controlled by persons with strong political connections to the former Government, were not invoiced on a timely basis.
And aside from this, they ignored the NFMU’s invoices for long periods of time without any follow-up action by the NFMU.
According to the audit report, the previous administration did not adjust the current fees structure to include a method to calculate spectrum fees for cable TV providers and the NFMU did not invoice or request payments on account for frequency spectrums used by both entities to broadcast cable TV.
“Following our requests, the NFMU has estimated that fees owed by E-Networks Inc and Quark Inc at December 31, 2014, amounted to $31 million and $29 million respectively. We emphasise that these are estimates and a thorough examination of these and other unresolved accounts ought to be undertaken and the users billed,” the report said.
It is not clear if these two companies have since settled their accounts.
The report said the position regarding the payment for spectrum usage is not satisfactory and there is no evidence that all taxi services are billed and pay for spectrum usage.
It noted that part of the problem dates back to 2009, when former President Bharrat Jagdeo ordered taxi owners to spray their cars in yellow and granted them two years free spectrum.