The Auditor’s General office has been building its capacity to serve the needs of auditing revenues coming from the oil and gas sector, Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira on Monday disclosed.
“Two middle management officers now have their Master’s degrees in studies relating to oil and… engineers, the audit office has three, one with a Masters… more engineers will be catered for in the 2023 budget,” Teixeira told the National Assembly Committee of Supply that is currently considering budget expenditures for 2022.
Her response was prompted by questions from Shadow Minister of Natural Resources David Patterson who questioned if any special provisions were catered for to examine the expenditures of revenue generated from the sector.
According to the Minister, the Audit Office has been preparing to track oil revenues coming into the government coffers. She explained that under the Natural Resource Fund (NRF), the Auditor General (AG) has a role to play in scrutinising the spending of the revenue.
The agency is currently building its capacity to audit the exploration, extraction and production cost of the oil sector, the Minister noted as she pointed out that it will be done in accordance with the NRF and Audit Office Acts.
However, she stated that while they are building capacity to track spending, during the planning process of the audit, the AG will determine if assistance will be required from external or internationally recognised accounting firms to aid in the audits.
“Any technical expertise will be determined during planning and extraction of the audit,” she noted.
With the approved $1.05 billion funds, some $8.8 million will be spent on overseas trips, $4 million for staff to attend the Caribbean Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (CAROSAI) congress, and $25 million on capital works.
The Minister explained that the budgeted $8.8 million will be spent to conduct audits in overseas missions such as Toronto and Ottawa, Canada, and New York and Washington in the United States.
Further, she explained to the Committee of Supply that seven staff members will be accompanying the Auditor General Deodat Sharma to the CAROSAI congress in May.
It is integral that Guyana, currently the organisation’s chair, participates in the congress this year as they are required to hand over to the next host country, Teixeira said, as she justified the delegation’s participation.
The congress comprising 23 nations will take place in Aruba from May 15 to 19 this year.
And in response to questions from Opposition Member Ganesh Mahipaul, she told the committee that the $25 million will be spent on the construction of a storage bond in the compound of the Audit Office, a water filtration system, as well as the purchasing of furniture and other equipment for the efficient functioning of the agency.
