The Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) yesterday said that the Auditor General’s 2018 report on the public accounts was misleading as it didn’t incorporate several of the explanations that the ministry had given.
The explanations were given during a press conference called by the ministry to provide updates and highlights from 2019.
The 2018 Auditor General’s report, though handed over to the Speaker of the National Assembly, is yet to be laid in Parliament and released to the public. Stabroek News has however seen a copy of the report.
MPI Minister, David Patterson, and Minister within the Ministry, Jaipaul Sharma, condemned whomever is responsible for providing the media with the report, although Patterson agreed to respond to what has been alleged.
In its 5th January, 2020 issue, Stabroek News reported that $63.741 million in overpayments were made to contractors in circumstances where works were not completed according to contractual specifications.
The report noted that this sum represented the single largest instance of overpayment related to a sum in excess of $50 million for works which were incomplete as of September 2019. The report, stated that a physical verification of the rehabilitation of the Compound Road in Mabaruma revealed that works were in progress, with only half of the total width for the reinforced concrete roadway completed along a section of the road.
Among the works required were construction of reinforced concrete rigid pavements and associated drainage works and construction of a reinforced concrete and steel bridge along a section of roadway.
Misleading
Patterson told reporters yesterday that the Auditor General’s report is misleading, as it does not reflect information provided to the office, which explains what transpired.
He said that while it was the intention of the ministry to build reinforced concrete rigid pavements and associated drainage works, local authority officials in various regions had indicated that they preferred to have wider roads. n light of these requests, Patterson said the initial plan changed, and wider roads were constructed, and the drainage system was built beneath the asphalt covers. Patterson added that whatever funds were stipulated to be spent on the concrete covers were spent on the structure ultimately constructed.
As such, he explained that while the drainage works initially intended do not exist, drainage works, albeit of a different design, do exist.
Consolidated Fund
Patterson was also asked to respond to reports that as of January 2020, his ministry was in possession of over $700 million which was to be handed over to the Consolidated Fund.
The AG’s report states that 222 cheques totalling $732.7 million were on hand as of January 2019 in breach of Section 43 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act which requires that any unexpended balance of public moneys issued out of the Consolidated Fund shall be returned and surrendered to the Consolidated Fund, unless otherwise stated.
Patterson explained that there is usually a withholding tax of 2 percent on the contract value of all contracted works, which funds are usually paid over to the Guyana Revenue Authority. This amount, he said, is usually not determined until works are completed, and he added that cheques for these amounts are usually cut on December 31st.
Patterson noted that 1st January 2019 is a holiday, and said that the Auditor General’s auditors conducted the audit which revealed those numbers on 2nd January, at which time the funds were still with the ministry.
He also said that this explanation was given to the Auditor General’s office, and he would have liked for that explanation to at least be reflected in the report.
D’Urban Park construction
Patterson was also asked to respond to questions concerning the construction of D’Urban Park. In its 6th January 2020 issue, Stabroek News reported that based on the Auditor General’s report, amounts totaling almost $1.150 billion were spent on the project as of 31st December 2017. The report also stated that payment vouchers to support expenditure totaling $107.119 million were not produced for audit examination while there is no evidence of checks on works for which the private company that started the project, Homestretch Development Inc. (HDI), was given half a billion.
Yesterday, however, Patterson said that he has provided the Auditor General’s office with all of the financial documentation it has regarding the project.
