Auditor General Deodat Sharma yesterday handed over the 2018 Auditor General’s report to Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Barton Scotland.
During the brief ceremony Sharma noted that this was his 15th report as AG and the ninth consecutive one he had submitted by the statutory deadline of September 30.
“This achievement reflects the realization of the Office’s objective of timely reporting of the results of its audits to the legislature and ultimately the public,” he said.
The AG noted that the report will be laid in the National Assembly at the earliest opportunity at which time it becomes a public document.
While President David Granger had announced that government would be returning to the National Assembly on October 10, Scotland said there is no sitting currently scheduled.
“I haven’t received information on that yet…if the Clerk of the National Assembly would have received such information then certainly he would have shared that information with me,” he said in response to questions from Stabroek News.
Meanwhile Opposition members of the Public Accounts Committee who were present at the handing over have demanded that their absence from the Assembly not impede their access to the report.
“We’re making it very clear that as the Parliamentary Opposition, we don’t expect not being present in the National Assembly or not attending a sitting of the National Assembly or not having a sitting of the National Assembly would be the reason [to hide] the content of this report,” PPP/C MP Juan Edghill told reporters following the ceremony.
Stating that the Public Accounts Committee has noticed several anomalies in Government spending over the past three years, Edghill suggested that a mechanism be put in place to ensure the contents of the report are made public to ensure transparency and accountability.
He also drew attention to several “printing contracts” recently awarded and called on the AG’s office to “step up its vigilance” to ensure that state funds are not being misused for campaign financing.
