The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) was yesterday criticised for its efforts to recover monies overpaid to contractors who undertook work for it during the 2009 financial year.
During yesterday’s meeting of the National Assem-bly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), where the 2009 Auditor General’s report was examined, Committee Chair Volda Lawrence stated that the MCYS “should not allow things to sleep on the shelf” and rather should seek to recover monies overpaid.
Those who appeared before the committee on behalf of the MCYS were Permanent Secretary (PS) Alfred King and a team that included Director of Youth Carl Brandon.
According to the Auditor General’s report for 2009, the ministry is still to recover amounts of $245,700 and $989,900 overpaid to contractors in relation to the rehabilitation of the rampart at Fort Kyk-Over-Al and the walkway at Fort Zeelandia in the Essequibo River. It was noted that the ministry had given the contractor deadlines for the sums to be repaid, but these were apparently ignored.
King said yesterday that one of the contractors was arrested by the police at the National Stadium at Provi-dence, while carrying out work there recently. He said the company subsequently made the requisite payment to the agency. He stated too that that two other contractors are still to bring their payments up to date and that the AG is assisting in this regard.
Lawrence said that the ministry should make efforts to approach the contractors and have one-on-one sessions with them in order to bring the agency’s financial records up to date. She said, “You need to go after these people… most of them are still working in the government system.”
She said the PS should seek advice from his colleague at the Ministry of Education, who had been successful in reclaiming monies owed by contractors.
The ministry had indicated in its response to the AG’s findings that “it was previously mentioned that overpayments were made to contractors, from its capital provisions, in the amounts of $245,700 and $989,900 in the rehabilitation of the rampart of the Fort Kyk-Over-Al and walkway at Fort Zeelandia. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport acknowledges this conclusion and is in accord with the recommendation that every effort be made to recover such sums from the contractors.”
The AG report also stated that the ministry still has not recovered overpayments totalling $193,450 paid to a contractor for work carried out at the Madewini male dormitory.
The work was carried out in 2008 and checks revealed that the quantities paid for had exceeded the actual measured works in the areas listed.
The ministry had stated that there was no overpayment and, according to King, it was addressing the issue and the project was identified and recapped with its consultant. He said that in this case, the project would be recorded as a variation of contract and should have been sent to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).
He said the sum was referred to as overpayment because of the variations which were undertaken.
King stated that the “only way it could be fixed is if the NPTAB is approached” with the necessary paperwork for approval. PPP/C Member of Parliament Bibi Shadick asked whether there had been approval for the overpaid sum and King stated that this was done by the accounting officer.
Lawrence chided King, while stating that in future the MCYS needed to indicate to the AG’s office the value of work done outside the contractual arrangements. She said the agency should work towards finding the contractor in question in order to recover monies owed by him.
Meanwhile, the accounting officers at the Ministry of Labour and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) were congratulated by the PAC yesterday for their efforts in bringing their financial records for 2009 up to date. Representatives of both agencies made brief appearances before the committee.
