–Auditor General report highlights, says reflects govt’s efforts to enhance financial accountability, ensure contractors are held responsible for their obligations
–points to key improvements in ministries, regions

THE 2023 Auditor General’s report has revealed significant strides in the management of public funds, highlighting the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s success in recovering overpayments on contracts, increasing infrastructure oversight, and improving fiscal accountability across ministries and regions.

One of the standout achievements highlighted in the report is the complete recovery of overpayments on contracts and improvements in the execution of government-funded projects.
Out of 752 contracts valued at $47.4 billion examined in 2023, the report revealed that $299.1 million in overpayments had been made across 74 contracts. Ministries were responsible for $212.8 million, while Regional Democratic Councils accounted for $86.3 million in overpayments.
The Auditor General’s report highlighted that these overpayments were addressed promptly, stating, “All overpayments were recovered by repayment of sums overpaid and by contractors completing unfinished or outstanding works for which payments had already been received.”
This is in keeping with the government’s efforts to enhance financial accountability and ensure that contractors are held responsible for their obligations.

The Works and Structures Department of the Audit Office also significantly increased its capacity to oversee infrastructure projects in 2023, expanding the number of projects inspected from 466 in 2022 to 741 in 2023.
This improvement was driven by the hiring of three additional engineers, bringing the total number of engineers to five.

The report highlighted this development as a positive step towards ensuring better management of government-funded infrastructure projects, stating: “The increased number of inspections allowed for more thorough scrutiny of projects, ensuring that contractors meet their contractual obligations and that public funds are spent effectively.”

This expansion is timely, given the surge in infrastructural investments driven by the oil and gas sector.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
The Ministry of Health emerged as a key player in delivering essential services in 2023, particularly in the procurement and distribution of drugs and medical supplies.
The ministry distributed $4.822 billion worth of supplies across all ten administrative regions, exceeding the budgeted amount of $3.697 billion.
The overachievement reflects the government’s commitment to ensuring that healthcare needs are met.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development was lauded for its effective management of funds allocated for community projects.
In 2023, the ministry successfully spent its entire budget of $13.123 billion on initiatives such as the Community Infrastructure Improvement Project (CIIP) and other community enhancement programs.
The report also sheds light on the performance of Guyana’s ten administrative regions, highlighting both achievements and areas requiring further improvement.

Region 10 made notable progress in addressing audit recommendations from previous years. The report noted that seven of the 17 recommendations from the 2022 audit had been fully implemented, signalling a positive trend in financial management.
In addition, the region is working on improving the system for collecting rent on government quarters, an issue that has been ongoing for some time.
Against this backdrop, Region Eight encountered challenges in reconciling drug and medical supplies received from the Ministry of Health.

While these issues are being addressed, the report noted that the region is actively working to resolve discrepancies and improve its financial controls.