The Auditor General’s Report for 2012 has fingered at least four state agencies in various multi-million dollar irregularities in transactions with the state-run GuyOil relating to the purchase of fuel and lubricants.
Last year’s report cites irregularities that include ill-explained advances to GuyOil totalling hundreds of millions of dollars for fuel. Last year,
Deodat Sharma
according to the Auditor General’s Report, amounts in excess of $18 million had, according to the Region Four authorities, been paid to GuyOil for fuel that remained undelivered.
The report also identified other fuel-related irregularities including the issuing of fuel to vehicles not owned by the region and some that were never registered by the Guyana Revenue Authority. Many of these matters are said to involve drivers from the various state agencies and are under police investigation.
Some of the state-run entities named in the Auditor General’s Report as having been involved in irregular procedures associated with the acquisition of fuel include the Ministries of Agriculture and Public Works and Regions Four and Six.
Some of the more serious irregularities have been located in Region Four, where, according to the Auditor General’s Report, “fuel and lubricants totalling $1.663 million was supplied to 16 vehicles not owned by the region.” Additionally, the report says that information gleaned from the region indicates that it had paid over to GuyOil an amount in excess of $18 million for fuel and lubricants that was yet to be handed over by the state-run oil company, in contravention of regulations.
The Auditor General’s Report cites additional irregularities in Region Four associated with the administration of fuel and lubricants including the illegal allocation of $733,076 to three vehicles not owned by the region. “Checks made at the Licence Revenue Office revealed that two of the three vehicles were never registered with the agency,” the report said. The matter continues to be the subject of a police investigation. The report said, meanwhile, that the Audit Office had concluded an investigation into “the alleged theft of fuel and lubricants” involving drivers employed by the Regional Democratic Council, Region Four who, between January 1 and January 31 this year, illegally obtained fuel and lubricants from the GuyOil Gas Station on Public Road, Kitty. The report said that action by the region might include possible criminal charges against the alleged perpetrators.
Meanwhile, the Report of the Auditor General also detailed seeming irregularities in the administration of fuel in Region Six where verification exercises unearthed discrepancies amounting to thousands of litres in diesel pertaining to what was recorded in the log books and the amounts reflected in the official reports. Similar discrepancies were unearthed at the Whim Hydraulics Store in June this year.
The Report of the Auditor General also alludes to overpayments in excess of $4 million by the Ministry of Public Works to GuyOil in respect of fuel and lubricant purchased from the company.
