The 2018 Auditor General’s report says that local government organs continue to function inefficiently and millions allocated for their improvement remain unspent.
According to the report, which was seen by this newspaper but was not officially released after being handed over to the National Assembly last year, the sum of $10 million allotted for strengthening of local government systems remained unspent at the end of the fiscal year.
A loan agreement was signed in March, 2018, between the Ministry and the Caribbean Development Bank, for the execution of the project but no contract was awarded in 2018.
“The benefits of this Programme, which included improved capacity for strategic policy management and coordination, may be delayed,” it was concluded.
Additionally, the sum of $10 million allotted for studies for provision of social and physical infrastructure for the new townships of Bartica, Lethem, Mabaruma and Mahdia, and studies for urban renewal of Georgetown remained unspent.
The activities under this project were to be executed through financing from Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) but the project did not come on stream.
The benefits were to include enhanced access to social services and improved infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the report said the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and Municipal Councils continued to be in breach of the Local Government Act, Chapter 28:02 of the Laws of Guyana and the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01, respectively.
According to Section 134 (1) of the Local Government Act, the Auditor General may at any time audit the accounts of the Councils. Similarly, the Municipal and District Councils Act provides that “…all accounts of Municipal and District Councils be made up yearly to the end of the financial year by the Treasurer of the Council and shall be so made up not later than four months after the end of such year to which they relate and for those accounts to be audited by the Auditor as soon as practicable.”
As of September 2019, none of the Local Government Organs has submitted 2018 accounts for auditing, with several NDCs last being audited in 1994 and the Linden Town Council last being audited in 1984.
It should be noted that the ministry transferred sums totalling in excess of $600 million to these entities in 2018; $378.014 million to the councils and $297.795 million to the municipalities.
