– AG says report focuses on areas related to a greener environment, oil and gas

THE Auditor General (AG), Deodat Sharma, has submitted the 2017 Auditor General’s report to Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr. Barton Scotland, making it eight consecutive years that the report was submitted in time for the end of the fiscal year.

Although the contents of the report will be made public after being presented to the National Assembly on October 10, 2018 by the Speaker, the auditor general said it encompasses areas related to a greener environment.

“We will also be looking at various areas in the oil and gas sector that will be relevant to our engagement when it is time to examine the revenue of the sector,” Sharma said.
The report also contains information on an audit which was conducted into the construction of the D’Urban Park.

President David Granger had addressed several concerns raised by the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) about the construction of the D’Urban Park Development project, which was established to host activities for Guyana’s 50th jubilee celebrations.

It was revealed in the National Assembly that a private company – Homestretch Development Incorporated (HDI) – was established to collect donations for construction of the project and included several directors.

President Granger in his weekly televised programme – ‘The Public Interest’ – had made it clear that this company was created solely to facilitate completion of the project in time for the 50th Independence Anniversary celebration in the absence of budgetary allocations, following the May 2015 elections.

The Head of State admitted that while this might have been an unusual course of action, it was expedient at the time and Guyanese now have a valuable asset, which is a source of national pride and added that the company is not a secret one and has been notified to the National Assembly, a release from the Ministry of the Presidency noted.

Sharma nevertheless said every entity has been audited in the past but there are still some backlogs of entities to be audited.

“The GPO is in backlog and the teachers’ union…we are working to get them up to date but I cannot do that unless they have submitted their financial statements,” he said.

Despite the encounters, Sharma said all accounting officers have been cooperating fully so there is no problem with accessing information.

Sharma said the achievement of the report reflects the realisation of the office’s objective of reporting the results to the legislature and public.

“The report of the auditor general is of signal importance in relation to Parliament’s treatment of the budget and the scrutiny of Parliament of the resources generally…we must appreciate that as set out in the constitution,” said the Dr. Scotland.

He said the work of the AG remains an integral part of the management and scrutiny of resources which are made available to the government.