After the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was discovered in Guyana back in March 2020, the then APNU+AFC government implemented an assistance programme for vulnerable persons but a recent audit of the scheme shows that 9,000 eligible applicants were denied the grants.
The Auditor General’s report on the COVID-19 pandemic assistance voucher programme was laid in the National Assembly yesterday.
It showed that of the 11,098 applicants who gained the eligibility score of 65 points and over, only 1,814 were shortlisted for verification. The special report said that the remaining 9,284 qualified applicants did not receive vouchers and officials have not explained the reasons why.
The vouchers ranged in value between $25,000 and $32,000.
The APNU+AFC started the programme in April of 2020 with the objective of providing economic relief to vulnerable households through the supply of hampers with fresh foods, dry rations, toiletries, and sanitation items. It targeted single parents, senior citizens, differently-abled persons and those who suffered income loss due to COVID-19.
Those persons who were eligible had to register online or contact the then Ministry of Social Protection or the Ministry of Communities to have their application forms completed.
APNU+AFC started the programme during the 5-month long contentious general election and persons in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 were expected to benefit from the vouchers while those in Regions 1,7, 8 and 9 were promised hampers.
At the time of the announcement of the programme, Stabroek News had raised questions about the origin of funding for the initiative. Neither the Ministry of Finance nor the Ministry of Social Protection (MoSP) which were the lead agencies in the assistance programme could provide an answer as to where the finances were coming from.
“The funding was provided through the Ministry of Finance…The assistance was funded by central government to the Ministry of Finance’s budget, and the provision of hampers, the supplies for the hampers is from the Civil Defence Commission’s (CDC) budget,” Director of Operations of the COVID-19 Task Force Secretariat, Mark Archer had said in a subsequent response.
The key findings, presented by the Auditor General, showed that the programme excluded persons in the hinterland regions despite them being qualified to be beneficiaries. Additionally, the report pointed out that vouchers totalling $56M were not checked before paying which could have resulted in significant overpayment to suppliers.
“Vouchers not used were left unsecured. Over 3000 unused vouchers valued at least $90M were unsecured on a desk. As a result, the vouchers could have been easily accessed and used to obtain items from suppliers,” the report stated.
The Auditor General said that the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) failed to fully protect the information systems used in the online platform. It pointed out that the lack of standard controls placed the information system at risk which could have seen unauthorized persons changing or deleting formation.
According to the report, the NDMA did not have adequate input controls to prevent inaccurate, incomplete and/or invalid data from being entered into the system. That resulted in more than one application being processed for an applicant.
The Auditor General said that an examination of the database revealed 71 instances where the accepted forms of identification – a national identification card, a passport or a driver’s licence – were not entered in the system and 25 instances where duplicate applications were processed by the system. It recommended, as a correction mechanism, that the NDMA ensure appropriate controls are implemented for similar programmes in an effort to prevent a recurrence. The report also said that the NDMA did not respond to the Audit Office’s findings.
In relation to the denial of more than 9,000 eligible applicants access to the COVID-19 grant, the Auditor General pointed out that reasons should be provided to explain the move. Additionally, the Auditor General found that though the programme was not extended to Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9, there were 9 applicants from those regions who were given vouchers.
Distribution of the vouchers ranging between $25,000 and $32,000 started on June 29, 2020, and ended on August 31. 2020. Of the 1,841 shortlisted applicants, 1,774 were verified with 1,760 vouchers processed. The government said 9 of the 14 applicants who did not receive vouchers could not have been verified and 5 were duplicate entries.
The report stated that the “Verification exercise conducted on the 18 August 2020, revealed that over 3,000 unused vouchers valued at approximately $90M were left unsecured on a desk and could have been accessed by unauthorised personnel…this was as a result of all 5,000 vouchers being requisitioned and collected from the stores on the 18 June 2020. However, only 1,760 vouchers were needed for the approved applications. As a result, the unused vouchers could have been accessed and used to obtain items from suppliers.”
In response, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Human Services explained that all the vouchers were requisitioned because the process was ongoing and were kept for easy access by the Distribution Officers.
Additionally, the Audit Office found that the procurement procedure was not fully adhered to and that Tender Board approval was obtained after suppliers signed the Memoranda of Agreement. Also, there was no evidence that reconciliation was done before suppliers were reimbursed for items supplied.
