In response to a request from Minister of Culture, Charles Ramson for its financial records, IDPADA-G yesterday said that an audit report on its expenditure from 2018 to 2021 had already been submitted to the government and it is prepared to have a mutually agreed independent auditor examine expenditure for this year.
Chief Executive Officer of the Inter-national Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G) Olive Sampson in a letter dated yesterday was responding to a letter from Ramson dated August 31st fixing September 5th as the date by which the records should be submitted.
Ramson’s ministry asked for a “copy of all financial records including, but not limited to, payment vouchers, payroll, contracts, and receipts for all monies spent for the fiscal years from 2018 to the present date. Submission of the foregoing along with an index of all documents are requested by 5th September 2022.”
IDPADA-G declined this request with Sampson stating: “…a comprehensive audit of our organization was conducted by the Central Internal Audit Unit of the Ministry of Finance, for the period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2021. Since that audit investigated receipts and disbursement of funds by IDPADA-G, it fully investigated the ‘concerns’ raised in your request to us. Therefore, all financial records you seek for the period 2018 – 2021 were submitted to that government audit team”.
She added that the audit report was done under the purview of the Ministry of Finance which established that IDPADA-G’s disbursement of funds was” proper and without cause for reprimand”. Sampson said that the findings of the audit from 2018 to 2021 provided guidance on minor changes to internal processes that have since been implemented.
“Therefore, in furtherance of our commitment to accountability, I have annexed a copy of the audit for the period 2018 through 2021 entitled Investigation into Receipt and Disbursement of Funds by IDPADA – Guyana for your ease of reference, though it is already in the possession of the appropriate government Ministry”, she told Ramson.
Sampson further said that the only period for which receipts and disbursements by IDPADA-G has not been audited is January 1, 2022 to present.
“We are aware of the legal provisions for financial exposures and audits of entities such as IDPADA-G Inc. However, as further demonstration of IDPADA-G’s commitment to accountability, we are prepared, in this instance, to submit the relevant records to an independent auditor although statutorily this period is not due for an audit. We are ready to engage the appropriate government agency to mutually agree on such an independent auditor and the necessary terms of reference for the period January 1, 2022 to the present. We look forward to meaningful engagement that would assuage your concerns”, Sampson said. She also stated that IDPADA-G “commits to accountability for every cent allocated to us from any source”.
The letter from Ramson came on the heels of allegations by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo that IDPADA-G has misused monies received. Jagdeo accused IDPADA-G’s founding members of using the Afro-Guyanese community for personal benefit. “Find out how much of the money [IDPADA-G receives] goes to normal Afro-Guyanese,” he told reporters while claiming that since its founding it had received a total of $468 million from the government to promote the economic advancement and empowerment of Afro-Guyanese.
However, Co-founder Vincent Alexander said founders are not beneficiaries of the not-for-profit company. He also said that founding members of IDPADA-G are volunteers and do not benefit from the company.
While IDPADA-G is not generally funded to provide grants, he added, in 2018, the company received $10 million from the Ministry of Finance for grants to be distributed among Afro-Guyanese. This was largely distributed in 2018 and 2019.
In December 2013, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2015 to 2024 to be the International Decade for People of African Descent with the objective of strengthening national, regional and international action and cooperation in relation to the full enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights by people of African descent and their full and equal participation in all aspects of society. Additionally, it is intended to promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies as well as strengthen frameworks for the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.
Its theme is “People of African descent: recognition, justice and development”.
IDPADA-G, according to its website, was set up to craft the Guyana plan for the International Decade for people of African Descent in keeping with the provisions of the UN’s resolution inclusive of mechanisms for implementing, superintending, monitoring the plan as may be deemed necessary. IDPADA-G says that it is an assembly of African organizations and its general assembly is made up of one representative from each of the registered organizations. The organization consists of the General Assembly, a Coordinating Council, a Secretariat and Sub-committees.
Former President David Granger had started the funding for IDPADA-G in 2018. The organization’s objectives include expanding Afro-Guyanese share in the economy; increasing access to training and employment opportunities; restoring excellence in education, ensuring equity, justice and the respect of human and civil rights; demanding reparations; and the preservation of Afro-Guyanese history and culture. It is unclear what arrangements were made for the auditing of the expenditure.
