The document, titled: ‘An Assessment of the Living Conditions of the Residents of the Palms Geriatric Institu-tion,’ was handed over at Public Building. Members of the National Assembly, as well as staffers of the Auditor General’s Office and Parliament, were also present.
Sharma told the gathering that the report is simply an effort by the Audit Office of Guyana (AOG) to fulfil its statutory obligations. Perfor-mance/VFM Audits fall under Sections 24 (1) and 24 (3) of the Audit Act, which was assented to in 2004.
He said the report is required to be laid before the National Assembly and asked that it be tabled at the earliest opportunity.
Ramkarran expressed his gratitude to Sharma and his staffers and expressed optimism that more reports of this kind would be forthcoming. He noted that the Auditor General’s role is to assist the National Assembly to scrutinize the government’s performance adding that MPs would have an opportunity to review the spending of funds by the State.
According to a release issued by the AOG, the Audit Act of 2004allows the Auditor General to examine and report on the extent to which a public entity is applying its resources and carrying out its activities. The assessment is based as to whether the entity is applying these resources “economically, efficiently and effectively”. The Auditor General through a Perfor-mance/VFM is able to provide the legislature and other stakeholders with an assessment on the performance of these activities including information, observations and recommendations designed to promote “answerable, an ethical and effective public service, good governance, sustainable development and encourage accountability and best practices.
During the compilation of this pilot report, the AOG benefited from a twinning relationship with the Office of the Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador of Canada.
The AOG is expected to issue two other Performance/ VFM reports on Old Age Pension and the Procurement Process next year.
Earlier this year Sharma had announced that VFM audits would become routine, scrutinizing from ministries to road projects as the annual financial reviews from his office shifts focus to include how effectively public funds are being utilized.
