Acting Auditor General Deodat Sharma is yet to complete the audit he initiated into the $90 million allocated to the Guyana Police Force for the 2011 general and regional elections and over which a senior rank received a lot of flak for speaking out.
Sharma had told this newspaper on March 23 that he had officially launched an investigation into the $90 million brouhaha and would have made an announcement one month from that date.
Speaking to Stabroek News on Thursday, the acting Auditor General said he was still in the midst of the audit and was not in a position to make any pronouncements as yet. When he announced the investigation, Sharma had said that he was in possession of all of the related documents with regard to the allocations.
Sharma had also noted that the course the investigation takes along the way will ultimately determine when he is able to make a pronouncement and in what form.
Sharma had previously indicated that he might have dealt with the issue in the Auditor General’s Report on the national accounts for 2011, which would be due for release by the end of September. He had said that once it is in the public interest to do so, he could initiate an investigation into any issue regarding public funds. He had also said that the transactions for the use of the funds should be easily traceable.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee told the National Assembly prior to the commencement of the probe that there was no need for an audit of the funds, which were intended to cover transportation and food for those ranks inline prior to, during and after the November 28, 2011 elections. “I do not believe that there is any mystery about the sum of money,” he said back in March.
Divisional Commander David Ramnarine had publicly said that he had not received any money out of the $90 million allocation, triggering questions about the spending. Rohee has since called on acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell to discipline Ramnarine for his public comments on the issue, saying his actions are a breach of the police force’s Standing Orders.
The Guyana Police Force has said it could account for the money and in a statement, Police Public Relations Officer Ivelaw Whittaker had rebuffed suggestions by sections of the media that there was impropriety in the handling of the monies.
Whittaker noted that during 2011, the GPF prepared a budget of proposed activities for the elections, which was submitted to the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Home Affairs.
He said that subsequently, supplementary provisions were received during November 2011 in the sum of $90,649,200. He said that of this amount, a sum of $39,641,200 was for the shortfall on voted provisions and $51,008,000 was received under the line item 6261 – Local Travelling and Subsistence – which catered for the feeding of police ranks during the inline period for elections.
He noted that $8 million out of the $51,008,000 was to facilitate the cost of travelling expenses and the remaining $43,008,000 was brought to account by the police.
