The 60th meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday revealed that 31 payment vouchers for drugs, totalling $3.8 million, had bill dates before the dates of the requisitions to purchase.
According to the 2019 Auditor General (AG) report, this was an indication that standard procedures were not followed.
The report also noted “twenty-two instances totalling $22.798m where bills attached to Payment Vouchers were not processed with “PAID” stamp.
The Auditor General noted that “this situation would lead to duplication of payments”.
Government Parliamentarian and Member of the PAC Gail Teixeira deemed these revelations appalling and worrisome as she remarked “These items were received in February but the request to pay was made in September or October”.
The government Chief Whip noted that if the supplies were not available or there was a deficit the regional health authorities should have informed the regional administration of these deficiencies.
Teixeira noted that the regional administration should have then requested to purchase those supplies.
“The deeper we dig, the worse it gets”, she exclaimed.
In the wake of these revelations, Teixeira called for a special audit to determine when the supply and payment were made. She said that this situation was handled unacceptably.
Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill also a member of the PAC said that he found it alarming that former Regional Executive Officer of Region 5 Ovid Morrison could not recollect what transpired or led to these discrepancies.
Morrison in his defence said that only the Regional Health Officer of that region would be able to answer those questions as to what took place.
Edghill however pinpointed that the financial laws of Guyana “do not allow the government to take credited items”.
He also posited that no public officer can request supplies without the provision of proper documentation.
When pressed by Edghill for who specifically signed these vouchers, it was revealed that in some instances these cheques were signed by the REO Morrison and DREO Sherwin Wellington.
Opposition Parliamentarians Ganesh Mahipaul and Juretha Fernandes were also shocked at these revelations and underscored the dire need for the PAC to be entrusted with the responsibility of sanctioning errant public officerholders who mismanage public funds.
“We need to find ways of fixing these breaches,” Fernandes said.
According to the Auditor General’s report, photocopied bills were attached to two payment vouchers totalling $174,000.
As such the authenticity of the bills could not be determined. In addition, the report said that it could not be determined whether the transactions represented duplicate payments.
The Regional Administration in response to this said that those who are responsible for its budget indicated that measures will be implemented to ensure this is corrected and does not recur.
The Audit Office however recommended that the Regional Administration put systems in place to ensure compliance with the FMA Act and the Regulations.
An examination of Expired Drug Registers at the Mahaicony and Fort Wellington Hospitals revealed that the cost of drugs expired was not recorded. In addition, it was noted that sixty-seven items that had expired were destroyed during the year (2019).
According to the Head of Budget at the agency under examination, all efforts were made to have the relevant cost for the expired drugs recorded.
The Audit Office recommended that the Regional Administration survey determine the realistic needs of pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies at these institutions and ensure the proper storage of drugs and medical supplies to reduce losses through expiration or improper storage.
Fuel and Lubricants
According to the Auditor General’s report the sum of $43.325m was budgeted for the procurement of Fuel and Lubricants.
Amounts totalling $3.75m were transferred to the Line Item via virements, giving a revised sum of $47.075m of which the amount of $47.074m was expended.
An examination of Payment Vouchers for fuel and lubricants revealed the following:
a) Eighteen instances totalling $253,913 where 1,195 litres of gasoline were purchased for vehicle number PTT 1184 which was not listed on the Region’s vehicle inventory.
Similarly, during 2018, there were forty-one instances totalling $475,713 where purchases of fuel were made for twenty-six vehicles, not on the Region’s inventory.
b) Thirty-five instances totalling $282,619 where the bill date was before the date on the Requisition to Purchase.
The Regional Administration said that assistance was given to the Hugo Chavez Centre with fuel for their vehicle since they were unable to do that at the time and that Programme Managers were asked to complete cheque orders for fuel in small quantities.
The AG recommended that the Regional Administration put systems in place to ensure that all fuel purchased is only for vehicles owned and operated by the Region and that fuel is properly accounted for and utilised efficiently.
Stores and Other Public Property
The AG report for the 2019 Examination of Stores in the Region revealed the following breaches of the Store’s Regulations:
a) There was inadequate storage space for used parts.
b) The unit of receipt and issues were not stated in the Stock Ledger.
c) The cost of items was not quoted in the Stock Ledger.
d) Historical records were not maintained to enable management to monitor the individual cost of repairs and to determine whether it was economical to retain or dispose of vehicles under the Regional Administration.
e) Master and Sectional Inventories continued to not be updated.
f) There continued to be differences between the physical count of assets and the inventory balances.
g) All assets were not marked to identify them as property of the Region.
Fort Wellington and Mahaicony Hospitals
a) No independent record in the form of a Stores Ledger was maintained by the Accounting Department.
b) In addition, the Stock Ledgers and Bin Cards were not properly maintained during the year.
It was indicated by the regional administration that: (i) effort will be made to ensure all store records are properly maintained; and (ii) store ledgers are now being maintained at the Fort Wellington and Mahaicony Hospitals and corrective action has since been taken where staff is asked to be more vigilant in the execution of their duties at all times.
The Audit Office recommended that the Regional Administration comply fully with the Stores Regulations.
