-audit office
At the end of 2008, some 117 advances totaling $25.543 million were not cleared by officials travelling on the public purse, the Auditor General’s report for that year reveals.
The report also noted that a further 333 advances totaling $116.212 million were still to be cleared for the years 2004 to 2007. In response, the Head of the Budget Agency within the Accountant General’s Department said that “while some of the recipients were tardy in clearing their advances, others had submitted documentation to clear their advances.” However, the processing of such documentation was affected by the staffing situation in the department. According to the Head of the Budget Agency, the delinquent officers were written to, requesting them to submit documentation to clear their advances. “At the time of reporting, the situation remained the same,” the department said. The Audit Office has since recommended that the Head of Budget Agency notify the offending officials of their obligation to clear all overseas travel advances through the submission of bills and receipts and other supporting documents to substantiate the payments made. Additionally, it was recommended that a list of the defaulting officials be submitted to the Office of the President. “In this way, Cabinet will be apprised of this undesirable situation,” the Auditor General said.
Several questions have been raised in recent times about the amounts spent on travel for government officials, especially the President. Government, however, has pegged their total annual travel expenditure at $200M.
President Bharrat Jagdeo recently issued a warning to his officials that they should clear their advances or risk having their names published in the press. Acting Auditor General Deodat Sharma told Stabroek News recently that since the issue has been highlighted in the press, several officials have moved to clear their advances.
