Kaieteur News Editorial, Sunday 20 September 2009 - "GOOD MEN AND WOMEN MUST ACT!" - http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/09/20/good-men-and-women-must-act/
The State and government both have an obligation in free societies to support the media by allowing access to public officials and information. The availability of this information contributes to an enlightened polity and thus informed choices. The ability to make such choices strengthens democracy and creates conditions whereby citizens feel that their views will not only be known but acted upon, thereby reducing the chasm between politicians and the people and brining the latter closer to the decision-making process. In this regard, the media acts as a conduit between the policymaker and the citizens, allowing a flow of information and feedback.
The media is also the watchdog for citizens, guarding against excesses and incompetence, corruption and ineptitude. The media as a watchdog serves a function that benefits the people, the State and government.
In Guyana today, it would seem as if there is a lack of appreciation by the government for the important role the media plays as a watchdog. The trials and tribulations that this newspaper has been subjected to simply for reporting on matters of public concern has reached the stage whereby it is being forced to defend a slew of libel cases, but even more tragically, is having grave difficulties in obtaining matters which any government ought to have been willing to provide readily to the media.
After this newspaper broke certain stories in the media, one minister actually encouraged the media to continue its work, by asking for the help of the media in monitoring all government contracts falling under his portfolio.
However, despite repeated requests to government officials for information on certain contracts, this newspaper remains empty-handed, thereby making a mockery of that minister’s invitation to the media. This newspaper has also sought additional information concerning contracts in the education sector. We are still waiting.
How then is the public interest served? How can we provide the necessary investigative journalism when there is a virtual embargo against us when it comes to obtaining information on government tendering, something that has been the subject of major controversy in this country?
We shall continue to persevere and keep the nation informed as to our frustrations in obtaining details of government projects. We however remain open to exploring all avenues so as to bring matters of public importance to the people. As such, if the doors of officialdom continue to be slammed shut in our faces, we shall pursue our cause through the international financial institutions that fund public works since all of these institutions and also the donor countries are, we believe, firmly committed to openness and transparency in the award of contracts funded by these countries and international financial institutions.
Not all contracts are, of course, funded by the international financial institutions. As we have seen there is significant work being undertaken using resources obtained from taxpayers. These taxpayers have an obligation to know how every cent of their money is being spent. This newspaper therefore will continue to make efforts to bring to the attention of the public how their monies are being used, regardless of how often we are rebuffed.
There are, of course, other bodies in whose faces doors cannot be shut and who can play an important role, in keeping with their mandates, in ensuring public transparency and accountability. We refer here to the Office of the Auditor General who has powers to investigate whether public funds have found its way into anyone’s bankbook and whether there has been value for money in relation to works executed with the use of public funds.
The Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly is also empowered to demand records and interrogate public officials about the use of public funds. We hope that when the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly is convened, it will as the first order of business summon the requisite parties and demand explanations as to the award of the contracts, particularly those that have in recent weeks been highlighted in this newspaper.
Showing posts with label Auditor General. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Auditor General. Show all posts
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
BK International has been awarded a $267 million contract
Regional Chairman admits using sub-standard materials to repair bridges
August 30, 2009 | By KNews | Filed Under News
- West Demerara rice farmers fed up with poor infrastructure
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/08/30/regional-chairman-admits-using-sub-standard-materials-to-repair-bridges/
By Neil Marks
When a loud scream of “lie!” came from a rice farmer, it was clear this was not going to be an ordinary meeting.
Soon, many more accusations started flying, and Region Three Chairman, Julius Faerber, bore the brunt of them.
Rice farmer Kamal Ramraj says this bridge was built using sub-standard materials and is not suitable for the passage of heavy-duty cane harvesting equipment.
Rice farmer Kamal Ramraj says this bridge was built using sub-standard materials and is not suitable for the passage of heavy-duty cane harvesting equipment.
As soon as he started speaking at a meeting yesterday with West Demerara rice farmers, organised by the Rice Producers Association (RPA), Faerber was shot down.
Rice farmers are fed up with the excuses regarding the poor state of infrastructure as they head into second crop harvesting.
Faerber started off by declaring that the Regional Administration has assisted farmers in draining the rice dams.
Then is when he received the stinging rebuff of ‘lie” from one of the farmers who gathered at the Windsor Forest Primary School.
The meeting was called for the farmers to discuss their problems with key officials. Those in attendance to meet with the farmers, apart from Faerber, were Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud; Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Lionel Wordsworth; Senior Engineer with the Agriculture Sector Development Unit, Frederick Flatts, and General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board, Jagnarine Singh.
When Faerber complained that the Regional Administration was experiencing difficulties, namely an out-of-order bulldozer, in grading the dams to allow for easy access, it was irritating.
“Wait fo rain fall!” a farmer shouted at him. When Faerber said the administration was facing difficulties in accessing “crush and run” to make the dams more “comfortable” farmers threw their hands in the air in anger.
But Faerber kept on detailing other projects the Regional Administration had undertaken to assist the farmers.
He pointed out that the Region had built three irrigation structures, but farmers said these were so badly constructed that “dem done rotten out.”
In fact, chairman of the Vreed-en-hoop/La Jalousie Water Users Association, Kamal Ramraj, said the structures “done blow way.” It was money wasted.
When farmers requested the costing for the projects, Faerber could not provide it and instead told the farmer to meet him at his office tomorrow.
There were claims that the Regional Administration had repaired several bridges before the last crop started.
But the farmers said this was another lie, and that in fact the bridges were constructed after the last crop. Even so, Ramraj said that the bridges, which Faerber said cost $3.2 million, were built using sub-standard materials.
Faerber was forced to admit that the Regional Administration used sub-standard material, because it was their judgment that some of the materials could be “use back” to repair the bridges.
Ramraj said this was a fool-hardy decision, and even with the sub-standard material used, the bridges would not withstand the pressure of the heavy duty rice harvesters and as a result after this second crop, more money would have to be spent to repair the bridges.
Water Users Associations (WUA) have been formed to empower farmers with responsibility to rehabilitating, sustaining and managing drainage and irrigation systems. The Minister of Agriculture urged “every single farmer” to take ownership of projects in their communities, but in a constructive way and not to go and “cuss down” the contractors.
Persaud told the farmers they should attend the bi-weekly meetings the WUA has with the contractors and the supervisory consultants to express any concerns they have with government projects. Contracting firm BK International has been awarded a $267 million contract to construct a total of 34 drainage and irrigation structures between Vreed-en-hoop and La Jalousie. The project also entails the replacement of 13 bridges and the re-construction of 11 kilometers of access roads.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture has expressed concern about the pace of works and is expected to meet with the contractor tomorrow.
August 30, 2009 | By KNews | Filed Under News
- West Demerara rice farmers fed up with poor infrastructure
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/08/30/regional-chairman-admits-using-sub-standard-materials-to-repair-bridges/
By Neil Marks
When a loud scream of “lie!” came from a rice farmer, it was clear this was not going to be an ordinary meeting.
Soon, many more accusations started flying, and Region Three Chairman, Julius Faerber, bore the brunt of them.
Rice farmer Kamal Ramraj says this bridge was built using sub-standard materials and is not suitable for the passage of heavy-duty cane harvesting equipment.
Rice farmer Kamal Ramraj says this bridge was built using sub-standard materials and is not suitable for the passage of heavy-duty cane harvesting equipment.
As soon as he started speaking at a meeting yesterday with West Demerara rice farmers, organised by the Rice Producers Association (RPA), Faerber was shot down.
Rice farmers are fed up with the excuses regarding the poor state of infrastructure as they head into second crop harvesting.
Faerber started off by declaring that the Regional Administration has assisted farmers in draining the rice dams.
Then is when he received the stinging rebuff of ‘lie” from one of the farmers who gathered at the Windsor Forest Primary School.
The meeting was called for the farmers to discuss their problems with key officials. Those in attendance to meet with the farmers, apart from Faerber, were Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud; Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Lionel Wordsworth; Senior Engineer with the Agriculture Sector Development Unit, Frederick Flatts, and General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board, Jagnarine Singh.
When Faerber complained that the Regional Administration was experiencing difficulties, namely an out-of-order bulldozer, in grading the dams to allow for easy access, it was irritating.
“Wait fo rain fall!” a farmer shouted at him. When Faerber said the administration was facing difficulties in accessing “crush and run” to make the dams more “comfortable” farmers threw their hands in the air in anger.
But Faerber kept on detailing other projects the Regional Administration had undertaken to assist the farmers.
He pointed out that the Region had built three irrigation structures, but farmers said these were so badly constructed that “dem done rotten out.”
In fact, chairman of the Vreed-en-hoop/La Jalousie Water Users Association, Kamal Ramraj, said the structures “done blow way.” It was money wasted.
When farmers requested the costing for the projects, Faerber could not provide it and instead told the farmer to meet him at his office tomorrow.
There were claims that the Regional Administration had repaired several bridges before the last crop started.
But the farmers said this was another lie, and that in fact the bridges were constructed after the last crop. Even so, Ramraj said that the bridges, which Faerber said cost $3.2 million, were built using sub-standard materials.
Faerber was forced to admit that the Regional Administration used sub-standard material, because it was their judgment that some of the materials could be “use back” to repair the bridges.
Ramraj said this was a fool-hardy decision, and even with the sub-standard material used, the bridges would not withstand the pressure of the heavy duty rice harvesters and as a result after this second crop, more money would have to be spent to repair the bridges.
Water Users Associations (WUA) have been formed to empower farmers with responsibility to rehabilitating, sustaining and managing drainage and irrigation systems. The Minister of Agriculture urged “every single farmer” to take ownership of projects in their communities, but in a constructive way and not to go and “cuss down” the contractors.
Persaud told the farmers they should attend the bi-weekly meetings the WUA has with the contractors and the supervisory consultants to express any concerns they have with government projects. Contracting firm BK International has been awarded a $267 million contract to construct a total of 34 drainage and irrigation structures between Vreed-en-hoop and La Jalousie. The project also entails the replacement of 13 bridges and the re-construction of 11 kilometers of access roads.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture has expressed concern about the pace of works and is expected to meet with the contractor tomorrow.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Agri Ministry asks Auditor General for more scrutiny of projects
Agri Ministry asks Auditor General for more scrutiny of projects
Posted By Stabroek staff On August 29, 2009 @ 5:19 am In Local News | 5 Comments
The Ministry of Agriculture has requested the assistance of the Office of the Auditor General to carry out additional comprehensive audits of its ongoing projects.
According to an undated letter released by the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday and addressed to the Auditor General Deodat Sharma, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud stated that the Agriculture Ministry is implementing a series of capital works, all designed to promulgate several new export-led commodity chains.
Persaud stated that it is imperative that full value is obtained from all projects carried out by the Ministry, if the department is to be successful in its thrust in agricultural development and the raising of the quality of life in Guyana.
The move by the ministry comes amid a series of reports in the Kaieteur News questioning whether contractors have been overpaid and whether value for money is being obtained from projects.
Persaud stated that the Agriculture Ministry is seeking the support of the Auditor General in order to obtain the full value of investments made and to ensure that there is continued public confidence and support for the investments made in the sector.
According to the letter, Persaud noted that several weeks ago the Agriculture Ministry had established an internal mechanism to receive feedback from the public on the state of implementation of projects, noting that other projects which were implemented were published in the media while copies of same were shared with the respective shareholders for additional monitoring.
Persaud also stated that two persons, Frederick Flatts, Senior Engineer attached to the Agriculture Sector Development Unit of the Agriculture Ministry and Vishal Budhoo, Field Auditor attached to the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), have been identified as the main liaison officers to provide the requisite information regarding projects being implemented by the Agriculture Ministry.
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Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/stories/08/29/agri-ministry-asks-auditor-general-for-more-scrutiny-of-projects/
Posted By Stabroek staff On August 29, 2009 @ 5:19 am In Local News | 5 Comments
The Ministry of Agriculture has requested the assistance of the Office of the Auditor General to carry out additional comprehensive audits of its ongoing projects.
According to an undated letter released by the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday and addressed to the Auditor General Deodat Sharma, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud stated that the Agriculture Ministry is implementing a series of capital works, all designed to promulgate several new export-led commodity chains.
Persaud stated that it is imperative that full value is obtained from all projects carried out by the Ministry, if the department is to be successful in its thrust in agricultural development and the raising of the quality of life in Guyana.
The move by the ministry comes amid a series of reports in the Kaieteur News questioning whether contractors have been overpaid and whether value for money is being obtained from projects.
Persaud stated that the Agriculture Ministry is seeking the support of the Auditor General in order to obtain the full value of investments made and to ensure that there is continued public confidence and support for the investments made in the sector.
According to the letter, Persaud noted that several weeks ago the Agriculture Ministry had established an internal mechanism to receive feedback from the public on the state of implementation of projects, noting that other projects which were implemented were published in the media while copies of same were shared with the respective shareholders for additional monitoring.
Persaud also stated that two persons, Frederick Flatts, Senior Engineer attached to the Agriculture Sector Development Unit of the Agriculture Ministry and Vishal Budhoo, Field Auditor attached to the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), have been identified as the main liaison officers to provide the requisite information regarding projects being implemented by the Agriculture Ministry.
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Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/stories/08/29/agri-ministry-asks-auditor-general-for-more-scrutiny-of-projects/
Why no Office of the Ombudsman
Kaieteur News Editorial, Saturday 29 August 2009 - "Why no Office of the Ombudsman" - http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/08/29/why-no-office-of-the-ombudsman/
The Office of the Ombudsman has not been filled for years. This is one of the constitutional offices in the country and it is often held by a retired judge or someone of equal qualification.
The job of the Ombudsman is to adjudicate in cases that are brought by members of the public against Government officials suspected of wrongdoing. He is independent of any obstruction and his ruling is equal to that of a court. There could be legal challenges to these rulings, often to the court.
Eusi Kwayana is one of the people in not so recent memory —nearly 40 years ago—who went before the Ombudsman against two Government Ministers in the wake of complaints that they were involved in wrongdoing. The two were then Works Minister Hamilton Green and the then Housing Minister, the late David Singh.
The complaints against both men were that they were using their offices to procure material owned by the government for their personal gain. Hamilton Green was accused of using metal sheets on his home at D’Urban Backlands having allegedly procured these unfairly and in a manner not befitting a leader of the people. A similar accusation was leveled against David Singh.
In those days independence meant just that. There was no intervention by any leader. The then Prime Minister, Forbes Burnham, was the head of the country and although much has been said about his dictatorial ways, there is no one who could say that he meddled with things legal. He never intervened in the legal process, and in his book, it was let the chips fall where they may.
The Ombudsman found David Singh guilty and this Minister was forced to resign. He died soon after.
Hamilton Green was cleared but the Ombudsman noted that there might have been some aberrations.
In the face of the current allegations that contracts are padded and that there are constant irregularities, one of which, as one columnist noted, involved the signing of a number of remigrant declarations, all of which were fraudulently obtained, the public has no recourse to the Office of the Ombudsman.
President Bharrat Jagdeo has been asked repeatedly about appointing an Ombudsman but he has failed to do so for reasons best known to himself. And it cannot be that there is a shortage of candidates. Guyana has many retired judges who had performed with distinction and whose mental acuity is still there.
Some retired recently while others might have been off the bench for a relatively long time, but these people are available to the state.
Every society needs checks and balances; every society needs a forum to which people could channel their complaints because far too often when they go to the political directorate with complaints against officials their complaints are either ignored or are shelved to a date that never seems to approach.
Today, in the wake of revelations about a pump station at Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara; bridges at various locations in the country; river defence structures and certain road constructions, there seems to be no forum to which people could turn for explanations and if necessary, corrective action.
This is not to say that the Head of State is not keen to have an Ombudsman appointed, but he must be made to explain his reason for this obvious flaw in national life. He must be made to realize that there must be systems to ensure the smooth running of the country.
Guyana is not a playground for the rich and famous, nor is it the milch cow for people in Government office. People elected to high office must be accountable, and in cases where there is no public forum to guarantee accountability, people with complaints are often frustrated.
The response by the Finance Minister to complaints about the contracts was an insult to the intelligence of the people of Guyana and something that clearly supported what some feel was legalised dishonesty.
There was the story of the lowly clerk who bought a house for $60 million. The Commissioner of the Guyana Revenue Authority has promised an investigation, but he has no compunction to either conduct such an investigation or to report the findings to the nation.
The Ombudsman would have held public hearings and the various answers to the queries would have been in the public domain.
The Head of State is immune from investigation by the Ombudsman, but surely he would be operating in the best interest of the country if he allows his Ministers to justify their actions to the public if there is a perception of wrongdoing.
The Office of the Ombudsman has not been filled for years. This is one of the constitutional offices in the country and it is often held by a retired judge or someone of equal qualification.
The job of the Ombudsman is to adjudicate in cases that are brought by members of the public against Government officials suspected of wrongdoing. He is independent of any obstruction and his ruling is equal to that of a court. There could be legal challenges to these rulings, often to the court.
Eusi Kwayana is one of the people in not so recent memory —nearly 40 years ago—who went before the Ombudsman against two Government Ministers in the wake of complaints that they were involved in wrongdoing. The two were then Works Minister Hamilton Green and the then Housing Minister, the late David Singh.
The complaints against both men were that they were using their offices to procure material owned by the government for their personal gain. Hamilton Green was accused of using metal sheets on his home at D’Urban Backlands having allegedly procured these unfairly and in a manner not befitting a leader of the people. A similar accusation was leveled against David Singh.
In those days independence meant just that. There was no intervention by any leader. The then Prime Minister, Forbes Burnham, was the head of the country and although much has been said about his dictatorial ways, there is no one who could say that he meddled with things legal. He never intervened in the legal process, and in his book, it was let the chips fall where they may.
The Ombudsman found David Singh guilty and this Minister was forced to resign. He died soon after.
Hamilton Green was cleared but the Ombudsman noted that there might have been some aberrations.
In the face of the current allegations that contracts are padded and that there are constant irregularities, one of which, as one columnist noted, involved the signing of a number of remigrant declarations, all of which were fraudulently obtained, the public has no recourse to the Office of the Ombudsman.
President Bharrat Jagdeo has been asked repeatedly about appointing an Ombudsman but he has failed to do so for reasons best known to himself. And it cannot be that there is a shortage of candidates. Guyana has many retired judges who had performed with distinction and whose mental acuity is still there.
Some retired recently while others might have been off the bench for a relatively long time, but these people are available to the state.
Every society needs checks and balances; every society needs a forum to which people could channel their complaints because far too often when they go to the political directorate with complaints against officials their complaints are either ignored or are shelved to a date that never seems to approach.
Today, in the wake of revelations about a pump station at Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara; bridges at various locations in the country; river defence structures and certain road constructions, there seems to be no forum to which people could turn for explanations and if necessary, corrective action.
This is not to say that the Head of State is not keen to have an Ombudsman appointed, but he must be made to explain his reason for this obvious flaw in national life. He must be made to realize that there must be systems to ensure the smooth running of the country.
Guyana is not a playground for the rich and famous, nor is it the milch cow for people in Government office. People elected to high office must be accountable, and in cases where there is no public forum to guarantee accountability, people with complaints are often frustrated.
The response by the Finance Minister to complaints about the contracts was an insult to the intelligence of the people of Guyana and something that clearly supported what some feel was legalised dishonesty.
There was the story of the lowly clerk who bought a house for $60 million. The Commissioner of the Guyana Revenue Authority has promised an investigation, but he has no compunction to either conduct such an investigation or to report the findings to the nation.
The Ombudsman would have held public hearings and the various answers to the queries would have been in the public domain.
The Head of State is immune from investigation by the Ombudsman, but surely he would be operating in the best interest of the country if he allows his Ministers to justify their actions to the public if there is a perception of wrongdoing.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Nation must condemn raping of country’s resources - AFC/GAP
Nation must condemn raping of country’s resources - AFC/GAP
August 28, 2009 | By KNews | Filed Under News
…parties commend KNews for investigative journalism
The Alliance For Change (AFC), along with Everall Franklin of the Guyana Action Party (GAP), held a press conference yesterday, where the nation was urged to voice its condemnation at what was described as “the raping of the nation’s resources”.
The request was made in the context of several articles written by this newspaper after scrutinizing several contracts for works done by the Agriculture Ministry.
According to Franklin, who was at the time reading a prepared statement, “in the midst of our sugar workers demanding fair pay for work, along with civil servants calling for a living wage, we are seeing in the most graphic ways how the wealth of this nation is divided among a selected few.”
“Our nurses and teachers are overworked and underpaid and the most experienced leave these shores to secure their family’s future…Constantly we are told by this government that there is no way that the wages and salaries can be bettered and in the midst of ‘squandermania’, we organize telethons, fundraisers and beg to finance medical care for our sick children and other persons in dire need.”
Franklin emphasised that “the nation is insulted constantly by the sheer outrageousness of corrupt practices being perpetrated against us, the people of this country” adding that the recent exposure of a few contracts, which left many people shaking their heads in bewilderment, is but a small portion of the uncontrolled mismanagement meted out to the Guyanese population.
He cited the small pump house at Stanleytown which according to him “less than 15 gallons of paint (under seventy thousand dollars) could give more than six coats to that size building, and it cost this nation one million, seven hundred thousand dollars (with labour included), indeed very expensive labour.”
He said that the example he alluded to illustrates the scale of the “runnings being executed in our name.”
Franklin also drew reference to the now infamous Stanleytown pump for which $61 million was spent and it was later published that the same equipment was sourced for less than $12 million.
“If this is not a case for the Auditor General nothing else will ever be…I would not repeat the Minister of Finance’s uncharacteristically uneducated response on this matter but would say that either the engineers sent to monitor these projects are most likely absent, incompetent or corrupt, take your pick.”
He posited also that only a government which benefits from corruption will keep still.
“This is how the people’s wealth is being squandered…If we continue to bury our heads in the muck which is now evident, we leave exposed the most vulnerable parts of our anatomy for further violation and abuse…This cannot be allowed to continue, we all have to raise our voices in condemnation with the aim to stop this rape of our resources.”
When asked if the elected leaders were not scrutinizing the expenditure of taxpayer money, the politicians insisted in the affirmative, but pointed out that the opposition and media could expose these glaring anomalies, but it is ultimately up to the Government to curb the practice.
It was pointed out also that the Auditor General’s Office must be adequately staffed and allowed to do its job in order to provide a better service to the Guyanese people.
“Yes we can bring it up…Yes we can highlight it,” said Franklin, adding that as is the case during the budget debates there is very little that could be done, save and except for highlighting it to the populace, “and show how truly outrageous it is how the wealth of this nation is being squandered.”
According to Vice Chairman of the AFC, Sheila Holder, the government lacks the will to establish the Public Procurement Commission, which is a forum where a significant level of corruption as it relates to the spending of the taxpayers money could be weeded out.
The Public Procurement Commission is a Constitutional body that is yet to be established given the controversy surrounding a satisfactory list of nominees from the government. Leader of the AFC, Raphael Trotman, in his remarks said that there is absolutely no will within the administration to weed out corruption.
“It is going on unabated in a senseless matter that is akin to rape or a feeding frenzy…hopefully come the next elections people will exercise better judgement.”
August 28, 2009 | By KNews | Filed Under News
…parties commend KNews for investigative journalism
The Alliance For Change (AFC), along with Everall Franklin of the Guyana Action Party (GAP), held a press conference yesterday, where the nation was urged to voice its condemnation at what was described as “the raping of the nation’s resources”.
The request was made in the context of several articles written by this newspaper after scrutinizing several contracts for works done by the Agriculture Ministry.
According to Franklin, who was at the time reading a prepared statement, “in the midst of our sugar workers demanding fair pay for work, along with civil servants calling for a living wage, we are seeing in the most graphic ways how the wealth of this nation is divided among a selected few.”
“Our nurses and teachers are overworked and underpaid and the most experienced leave these shores to secure their family’s future…Constantly we are told by this government that there is no way that the wages and salaries can be bettered and in the midst of ‘squandermania’, we organize telethons, fundraisers and beg to finance medical care for our sick children and other persons in dire need.”
Franklin emphasised that “the nation is insulted constantly by the sheer outrageousness of corrupt practices being perpetrated against us, the people of this country” adding that the recent exposure of a few contracts, which left many people shaking their heads in bewilderment, is but a small portion of the uncontrolled mismanagement meted out to the Guyanese population.
He cited the small pump house at Stanleytown which according to him “less than 15 gallons of paint (under seventy thousand dollars) could give more than six coats to that size building, and it cost this nation one million, seven hundred thousand dollars (with labour included), indeed very expensive labour.”
He said that the example he alluded to illustrates the scale of the “runnings being executed in our name.”
Franklin also drew reference to the now infamous Stanleytown pump for which $61 million was spent and it was later published that the same equipment was sourced for less than $12 million.
“If this is not a case for the Auditor General nothing else will ever be…I would not repeat the Minister of Finance’s uncharacteristically uneducated response on this matter but would say that either the engineers sent to monitor these projects are most likely absent, incompetent or corrupt, take your pick.”
He posited also that only a government which benefits from corruption will keep still.
“This is how the people’s wealth is being squandered…If we continue to bury our heads in the muck which is now evident, we leave exposed the most vulnerable parts of our anatomy for further violation and abuse…This cannot be allowed to continue, we all have to raise our voices in condemnation with the aim to stop this rape of our resources.”
When asked if the elected leaders were not scrutinizing the expenditure of taxpayer money, the politicians insisted in the affirmative, but pointed out that the opposition and media could expose these glaring anomalies, but it is ultimately up to the Government to curb the practice.
It was pointed out also that the Auditor General’s Office must be adequately staffed and allowed to do its job in order to provide a better service to the Guyanese people.
“Yes we can bring it up…Yes we can highlight it,” said Franklin, adding that as is the case during the budget debates there is very little that could be done, save and except for highlighting it to the populace, “and show how truly outrageous it is how the wealth of this nation is being squandered.”
According to Vice Chairman of the AFC, Sheila Holder, the government lacks the will to establish the Public Procurement Commission, which is a forum where a significant level of corruption as it relates to the spending of the taxpayers money could be weeded out.
The Public Procurement Commission is a Constitutional body that is yet to be established given the controversy surrounding a satisfactory list of nominees from the government. Leader of the AFC, Raphael Trotman, in his remarks said that there is absolutely no will within the administration to weed out corruption.
“It is going on unabated in a senseless matter that is akin to rape or a feeding frenzy…hopefully come the next elections people will exercise better judgement.”
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Due diligence, Government of Guyana-style, as detailed by ghostwriter
Tendering is procedural open to all contracting services
PLEASE permit me to respond to a letter titled: ‘Why are there so many sole bids?’ in the Wednesday August 26 issue of the Kaieteur News.
Letter writer Dexter Fordyce stated that he noted recently that there have been many single bids. ‘It is as though there is a game going on in the tendering circle’, he asserted. Mr. Fordyce ranted about the apparent monopoly certain contracting firms have on certain projects; raved about how different things seem now from the time he was resident in Guyana; and asked what the functions of the procurement board are, in an effort to intimate that Government has been demonstrating nepotism in its award of contracts.
My immediate response to Mr. Fordyce’s missive is thus: When Government needs to contract out projects it does so by publishing invitations for bids. All contracting firms have equal access to invitations, and consequently, the right to respond accordingly. The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) considers the bids procedurally and awards the contract based on set criteria. If only a few contracting firms, or even ONE, would register interest in bidding for projects, it is no fault of NPTAB or the Government. Perhaps, appreciating their capabilities or lack thereof, certain contracting firms would enter the bidding process, or by the same token, abstain.
Additionally, while from an impulsive perspective, one may conclude that government has ‘relinquished’ the procurement of certain equipment; government actually procures equipment and machinery to execute certain projects which can be handled by people within its employ with the relevant expertise. A case in point is the move by the Ministry of Agriculture, through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), to execute earthen works as a preparatory phase of massive civil works currently executed in Regions Three, Four and Six. The drainage and irrigation works are executed by the NDIA at a cost of $200M. Had the project been contracted out, it would have depleted the national treasury by an additional $500M. The government does not have the capacity or expertise to undertake every project it wants executed; it certainly does not decide what the contract cost of a project would be. That is the right of the firm offering the service.
Is Mr. Fordyce a contractor? Did he ever respond to invitations for bids? Does he have proof that there is nepotism on the part of NPTAB or the government? Is he aware of NPTAB’s tendering procedures? The answers to these questions may in turn answer his questions.
GUY SCHOLARI
PLEASE permit me to respond to a letter titled: ‘Why are there so many sole bids?’ in the Wednesday August 26 issue of the Kaieteur News.
Letter writer Dexter Fordyce stated that he noted recently that there have been many single bids. ‘It is as though there is a game going on in the tendering circle’, he asserted. Mr. Fordyce ranted about the apparent monopoly certain contracting firms have on certain projects; raved about how different things seem now from the time he was resident in Guyana; and asked what the functions of the procurement board are, in an effort to intimate that Government has been demonstrating nepotism in its award of contracts.
My immediate response to Mr. Fordyce’s missive is thus: When Government needs to contract out projects it does so by publishing invitations for bids. All contracting firms have equal access to invitations, and consequently, the right to respond accordingly. The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) considers the bids procedurally and awards the contract based on set criteria. If only a few contracting firms, or even ONE, would register interest in bidding for projects, it is no fault of NPTAB or the Government. Perhaps, appreciating their capabilities or lack thereof, certain contracting firms would enter the bidding process, or by the same token, abstain.
Additionally, while from an impulsive perspective, one may conclude that government has ‘relinquished’ the procurement of certain equipment; government actually procures equipment and machinery to execute certain projects which can be handled by people within its employ with the relevant expertise. A case in point is the move by the Ministry of Agriculture, through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), to execute earthen works as a preparatory phase of massive civil works currently executed in Regions Three, Four and Six. The drainage and irrigation works are executed by the NDIA at a cost of $200M. Had the project been contracted out, it would have depleted the national treasury by an additional $500M. The government does not have the capacity or expertise to undertake every project it wants executed; it certainly does not decide what the contract cost of a project would be. That is the right of the firm offering the service.
Is Mr. Fordyce a contractor? Did he ever respond to invitations for bids? Does he have proof that there is nepotism on the part of NPTAB or the government? Is he aware of NPTAB’s tendering procedures? The answers to these questions may in turn answer his questions.
GUY SCHOLARI
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Report of the Auditor General 2007: Different year, same mess
Business Page
Posted By Christopher Ram On July 5, 2009 @ 5:09 am In Features, Sunday | No Comments
Report of the Auditor General 2007: Different year, same mess
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/features/07/05/business-page-67/
No change
The report of the Auditor General on the Public Accounts of the country for 2007 has been tabled in the National Assembly and is now officially available to the taxpaying public and commendably on the Audit Office’s website. The story is no different from that of last year, from that of the year before, or from that of the year before that: late by ten months beyond the statutory deadline; a story of reckless abuse of the public funds; condemnation and threats from the opposition; and the nine-day outrage by the public followed by whatever revelation inevitably comes to light. Let us go back to the report for 2000 which was reviewed in Business Page of May 19, 2002 in the form of an imaginary letter to Mr Stanley Ming, then a member of the Public Accounts Committee which is mandated to review and report on the report. In part, this is what the ‘letter’ said:
“A significant number of bank accounts currently in use, including the Guyana High Commission London Account, as well as non-operational accounts were allowed to be overdrawn by large amounts in contravention of Section 22 of the Financial Administration & Audit Act (FAA). Continues.
“The Consolidated Fund is overdrawn by tens of billions while the sum total of all bank accounts (including the overdrawn balance on the Consolidated Fund but excluding the balances on the bank accounts special projects) reflects a positive balance. Continues.
“The State continues to provide funding annually to several public entities even though they do not comply with their statutory duty to submit audited financial statements. Continues.
“The Contingencies Fund continues to be abused despite repeated negative comments on this practice. Continues.
“ Proceeds from the Guyana Lotteries are not being paid over to the Consolidated Fund but are kept in a ‘special bank account’ held at the Central Bank and used to meet public expenditure without parliamentary approval… despite the public commitment given by the President and de facto Minister of Finance that this would be corrected.”
Some change
Some things have changed. The report has been cut down in size – the 2000 report contained 2,120 paragraphs; now it is 557 paragraphs. Government expenditure has jumped from $47 billion in 2000 to $101 billion, or more than double. Reports of corruption no longer make news. There has been a Financial Management and Accountability Act that demands more not less accountability, and an Audit Act that sets greater obligations and higher standards on the Audit Office. Have things got better? I do not think so. Back then, we had a professionally qualified accountant heading the office, now we do not. The independence of the office is now more compromised than it was with Mr Deodat Sharma, Auditor General (ag) reporting that he was summoned for instructions by President Jagdeo, clearly in breach of the constitutional provision that the Audit Office should “not [be] subject to the control or direction of any person or authority.” Egregiously, the wife of the Finance Minister is now in a position to give professional guidance to the Auditor General (ag) by virtue of her position as his qualified assistant.
The administration’s response
Predictably and once again, the Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh has criticised the report for not reflecting the comments and responses of the various budget agencies and accounting officers. He cannot be serious. The report is in fact full of such comments, even when they make little sense or are misleading. For example on page 5, the Ministry of Finance’s response to the absence of end of year outcomes required under section 68 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003 is that the information was not forthcoming from the ministries, agencies and departments. That obligation falls on the Minister of Finance who has more than an adequate set of sanctions to ensure that he gets the information he needs.
But I suspect that the reason is more political. One of the major variances is the revenue collected from the new VAT and Excise Tax introduced in 2007. A single agency over which the Ministry of Finance exercises controls administers those taxes. More than one of them knows that the reason for the massive surplus is that the VAT rate had been incorrectly calculated, but that despite the early detection of the error, the government persisted in what some may consider a fraud on the nation. This information was around and an independent Audit Office should have done its own assessment and put the findings to the ministry.
Indifference
A constant refrain in the responses is that the Head of the Budget Agency had indicated that this matter was being addressed by the Ministry of Finance; that these were presently engaging the attention of the Ministry of Finance; that the Head of the Budget Agency had indicated that this issue was being addressed by the Minister of Finance; and that the Head of Budget Agency had explained that the administration had since written the Finance Secretary to have this matter rectified and was awaiting a response (they are all in the same building). The state of the audits for entities coming under the Office of the President and for which reports have not been laid in the National Assembly deteriorated, while the excuse by the budget agency that “every effort is being made” to do so was met with a further comment from the Auditor General (ag) calling for “special effort” – at best an apparent form of indifference by the Audit Office. But can society be so indifferent about the failure by the administration to properly account for public funds? Since the Minister would also have been aware that a substantial part of the report is of prior year matters which have not been resolved, his response to the report can only be seen as a political rather than technocratic reaction, confident that all will soon be forgotten.
New GPC again
For all the apparent sound and fury generated by the report, all it does is identify some of the better known examples of gross financial irregularities and improprieties that feed the public’s appetite for scandal. Advances of hundreds of millions of dollars to the New GPC, friends of the President, continue to be made for the company to buy drugs for the Guyana Public Hospital Corporation in breach of the tender procedures. One of GPC’s senior officials sits on the board of the hospital, which also does not maintain proper accounting records so that both the non-receipt of items and their issue cannot be determined. What successive reports have failed to do is cause any change in behaviour by a government whose financial management is repeatedly endorsed by the electorate. Perhaps the President was right when he described segments of the public as financially illiterate.
By now the public is well aware of the breach of the constitution regarding the Lotto funds and one wonders why the report only mentions the amount over a ten-year period rather than the period covered by the audit. The report also does not state that the Lotto money is being spent by a person who has no authority under the law to spend any money. There is no great virtue in repeating the statement that the Lotto funds are not being put into the Consolidated Fund as required by the constitution. It is not that it is being held safely in trust or investments – the money is being spent by President Jagdeo as he pleases.
Tardiness and illegality
Where are the sugar unions in the face of the continuing failure to provide satisfactory evidence of $1.451 billion as deposits held for investments on behalf of the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund, the Sugar Industry Rehabilitation Fund and the Sugar Industry Price Stabilisation Fund, two of which have not been audited for twenty-eight years and the other for eleven years? One of the ironies is that GINA, which is being used to defend the government’s record of financial management is itself in breach of the audit requirement.
The report also highlights a transaction involving Region 6 that smells of illegality including differences in vehicle chassis number and full up-front payment when the contract calls for progress payments. If the Customs officers could be referred to the DPP why not those involved in this purchase? And why has the Guyana Elections Commission not taken action against the “firm” that took 268 cartons of Polaroid film valued at $30.485 million which it has failed to recover from the “firm”?
Value for money
Once again the report announces that a Value-for-Money Unit (VFM) is being set up and after four years we can expect a VFM report. That we had to get assistance from Canada to achieve this is bad enough, but the choice of entity makes the idea into a mockery. I visited the Palms briefly not too long ago, and it was shocking to see the conditions under which the residents are housed and the staff have to work. The laundry, kitchen, sleeping and dining facilities are all in a state of disrepair, strangled for cash and other resources. What the Palms requires is not a Value-for-Money audit, but a money-for-value audit, refurbishment, additional staffing, new equipment for the kitchen and laundry, etc.
Conclusion
The recurrence of the egregious weaknesses and exorbitant losses resulting from poor financial administration and a weakened Audit Office suggests either an unwillingness to deal with the problem or a ‘we-like-it-so’ attitude by the government. Even the superficial enhancements in the Audit Office have to be financed with grants and loans, and in 2007 a second grant was obtained from the IDB to implement certain aspects of the office’s three-year Strategic Plan. Unable to do some of the most basic audit functions, to discharge the office’s obligations under various legislation and to complete the audits of the state entities in a timely manner, the Audit Office is now about to establish a Forensic Audit and Quality Assurance section.
How that will solve the problems that have persisted for more than ten years is anyone’s guess. Meanwhile the Auditor General tells us he cannot be sure about the accounts presented to him for audit by the Ministry of Finance.
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/features/07/05/business-page-67/
Posted By Christopher Ram On July 5, 2009 @ 5:09 am In Features, Sunday | No Comments
Report of the Auditor General 2007: Different year, same mess
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/features/07/05/business-page-67/
No change
The report of the Auditor General on the Public Accounts of the country for 2007 has been tabled in the National Assembly and is now officially available to the taxpaying public and commendably on the Audit Office’s website. The story is no different from that of last year, from that of the year before, or from that of the year before that: late by ten months beyond the statutory deadline; a story of reckless abuse of the public funds; condemnation and threats from the opposition; and the nine-day outrage by the public followed by whatever revelation inevitably comes to light. Let us go back to the report for 2000 which was reviewed in Business Page of May 19, 2002 in the form of an imaginary letter to Mr Stanley Ming, then a member of the Public Accounts Committee which is mandated to review and report on the report. In part, this is what the ‘letter’ said:
“A significant number of bank accounts currently in use, including the Guyana High Commission London Account, as well as non-operational accounts were allowed to be overdrawn by large amounts in contravention of Section 22 of the Financial Administration & Audit Act (FAA). Continues.
“The Consolidated Fund is overdrawn by tens of billions while the sum total of all bank accounts (including the overdrawn balance on the Consolidated Fund but excluding the balances on the bank accounts special projects) reflects a positive balance. Continues.
“The State continues to provide funding annually to several public entities even though they do not comply with their statutory duty to submit audited financial statements. Continues.
“The Contingencies Fund continues to be abused despite repeated negative comments on this practice. Continues.
“ Proceeds from the Guyana Lotteries are not being paid over to the Consolidated Fund but are kept in a ‘special bank account’ held at the Central Bank and used to meet public expenditure without parliamentary approval… despite the public commitment given by the President and de facto Minister of Finance that this would be corrected.”
Some change
Some things have changed. The report has been cut down in size – the 2000 report contained 2,120 paragraphs; now it is 557 paragraphs. Government expenditure has jumped from $47 billion in 2000 to $101 billion, or more than double. Reports of corruption no longer make news. There has been a Financial Management and Accountability Act that demands more not less accountability, and an Audit Act that sets greater obligations and higher standards on the Audit Office. Have things got better? I do not think so. Back then, we had a professionally qualified accountant heading the office, now we do not. The independence of the office is now more compromised than it was with Mr Deodat Sharma, Auditor General (ag) reporting that he was summoned for instructions by President Jagdeo, clearly in breach of the constitutional provision that the Audit Office should “not [be] subject to the control or direction of any person or authority.” Egregiously, the wife of the Finance Minister is now in a position to give professional guidance to the Auditor General (ag) by virtue of her position as his qualified assistant.
The administration’s response
Predictably and once again, the Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh has criticised the report for not reflecting the comments and responses of the various budget agencies and accounting officers. He cannot be serious. The report is in fact full of such comments, even when they make little sense or are misleading. For example on page 5, the Ministry of Finance’s response to the absence of end of year outcomes required under section 68 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003 is that the information was not forthcoming from the ministries, agencies and departments. That obligation falls on the Minister of Finance who has more than an adequate set of sanctions to ensure that he gets the information he needs.
But I suspect that the reason is more political. One of the major variances is the revenue collected from the new VAT and Excise Tax introduced in 2007. A single agency over which the Ministry of Finance exercises controls administers those taxes. More than one of them knows that the reason for the massive surplus is that the VAT rate had been incorrectly calculated, but that despite the early detection of the error, the government persisted in what some may consider a fraud on the nation. This information was around and an independent Audit Office should have done its own assessment and put the findings to the ministry.
Indifference
A constant refrain in the responses is that the Head of the Budget Agency had indicated that this matter was being addressed by the Ministry of Finance; that these were presently engaging the attention of the Ministry of Finance; that the Head of the Budget Agency had indicated that this issue was being addressed by the Minister of Finance; and that the Head of Budget Agency had explained that the administration had since written the Finance Secretary to have this matter rectified and was awaiting a response (they are all in the same building). The state of the audits for entities coming under the Office of the President and for which reports have not been laid in the National Assembly deteriorated, while the excuse by the budget agency that “every effort is being made” to do so was met with a further comment from the Auditor General (ag) calling for “special effort” – at best an apparent form of indifference by the Audit Office. But can society be so indifferent about the failure by the administration to properly account for public funds? Since the Minister would also have been aware that a substantial part of the report is of prior year matters which have not been resolved, his response to the report can only be seen as a political rather than technocratic reaction, confident that all will soon be forgotten.
New GPC again
For all the apparent sound and fury generated by the report, all it does is identify some of the better known examples of gross financial irregularities and improprieties that feed the public’s appetite for scandal. Advances of hundreds of millions of dollars to the New GPC, friends of the President, continue to be made for the company to buy drugs for the Guyana Public Hospital Corporation in breach of the tender procedures. One of GPC’s senior officials sits on the board of the hospital, which also does not maintain proper accounting records so that both the non-receipt of items and their issue cannot be determined. What successive reports have failed to do is cause any change in behaviour by a government whose financial management is repeatedly endorsed by the electorate. Perhaps the President was right when he described segments of the public as financially illiterate.
By now the public is well aware of the breach of the constitution regarding the Lotto funds and one wonders why the report only mentions the amount over a ten-year period rather than the period covered by the audit. The report also does not state that the Lotto money is being spent by a person who has no authority under the law to spend any money. There is no great virtue in repeating the statement that the Lotto funds are not being put into the Consolidated Fund as required by the constitution. It is not that it is being held safely in trust or investments – the money is being spent by President Jagdeo as he pleases.
Tardiness and illegality
Where are the sugar unions in the face of the continuing failure to provide satisfactory evidence of $1.451 billion as deposits held for investments on behalf of the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund, the Sugar Industry Rehabilitation Fund and the Sugar Industry Price Stabilisation Fund, two of which have not been audited for twenty-eight years and the other for eleven years? One of the ironies is that GINA, which is being used to defend the government’s record of financial management is itself in breach of the audit requirement.
The report also highlights a transaction involving Region 6 that smells of illegality including differences in vehicle chassis number and full up-front payment when the contract calls for progress payments. If the Customs officers could be referred to the DPP why not those involved in this purchase? And why has the Guyana Elections Commission not taken action against the “firm” that took 268 cartons of Polaroid film valued at $30.485 million which it has failed to recover from the “firm”?
Value for money
Once again the report announces that a Value-for-Money Unit (VFM) is being set up and after four years we can expect a VFM report. That we had to get assistance from Canada to achieve this is bad enough, but the choice of entity makes the idea into a mockery. I visited the Palms briefly not too long ago, and it was shocking to see the conditions under which the residents are housed and the staff have to work. The laundry, kitchen, sleeping and dining facilities are all in a state of disrepair, strangled for cash and other resources. What the Palms requires is not a Value-for-Money audit, but a money-for-value audit, refurbishment, additional staffing, new equipment for the kitchen and laundry, etc.
Conclusion
The recurrence of the egregious weaknesses and exorbitant losses resulting from poor financial administration and a weakened Audit Office suggests either an unwillingness to deal with the problem or a ‘we-like-it-so’ attitude by the government. Even the superficial enhancements in the Audit Office have to be financed with grants and loans, and in 2007 a second grant was obtained from the IDB to implement certain aspects of the office’s three-year Strategic Plan. Unable to do some of the most basic audit functions, to discharge the office’s obligations under various legislation and to complete the audits of the state entities in a timely manner, the Audit Office is now about to establish a Forensic Audit and Quality Assurance section.
How that will solve the problems that have persisted for more than ten years is anyone’s guess. Meanwhile the Auditor General tells us he cannot be sure about the accounts presented to him for audit by the Ministry of Finance.
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/features/07/05/business-page-67/
Four parties, GTUC appeal to Caricom heads to ‘rekindle hope’ among Guyanese
Four parties, GTUC appeal to Caricom heads to ‘rekindle hope’ among Guyanese
Posted By Stabroek staff On July 5, 2009 @ 5:09 am In Local News | 1 Comment
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/news/local/07/05/four-parties-gtuc-appeal-to-caricom-heads-to-%e2%80%98rekindle-hope%e2%80%99-among-guyanese/
An appeal to the Caricom Heads of Government to “rekindle hope” among Guyanese citizens was made yesterday via a full-page advertisement in the local newspapers placed by four political parties and a trade union body.
They cited Guyana’s steadily declining population whose young people did not see the country as an option, and the loss of hope in the reconciliation process which was to flow from the Herdmanston Accord and St Lucia Statement.
The Alliance for Change (AFC), GAP-ROAR, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), the United Party, and the Guyana Trades Union Congress said that the hopes that Guyanese had placed in the Herdmanston Accord and St Lucia Statement had gone and the promise of the heads “to remain engaged with our reconciliation process” had not been met. “Guyana continues to hemorrhage,” the advertisement said.
And yesterday President Bharrat Jagdeo responded to the issues of governance and immigration raised in the ad, and singled out the AFC and one of its leaders Khemraj Ramjattan for personal criticism. He lauded Guyana’s democracy, and said the country was in the top 30 where press freedom was concerned.
The advertisement captioned an ‘Open Letter to Caricom Heads of Government’ was placed in yesterday’s edition of the Stabroek News, and expressed the view that the small Guyanese population was not interested in any of the pronouncements of the Heads of Government Conference except the “single issue of the new Barbados immigration practices which make illegal immigrants out of West Indians born in the West Indies.”
“Unlike other crises confronting the region, this one touches intimately and immediately on what our increasingly desperate people see as their very survival,” the advertisement said.
“The hopes that Guyanese had placed in the Herdmanston Accord and St Lucia Statement have been dashed. After a full decade the promise of the Heads of Government to remain engaged with our reconciliation process has been unfulfilled,” and many Guyanese felt “deeply betrayed by the process,” the advertisement said.
The sponsors also stated that the lack of interest shown “is nothing new, since the masses of the Caribbean have long been disconnected from your discussions and decisions about the future. So, whether it be the global financial crisis or the failure of regional regulatory mechanisms to prevent the banditry of a CLICO or a Stanford, the broad masses of Guyanese are unlikely to be distracted from their day to day agonies.”
According to the advertisement:
“The reality is that Guyana is a society in the process of disintegration. Lawlessness stalks the land. Rape and murder of women and girls are on the rise. Guyana is not alone in the region with the growth of violent gun crimes, including extra-judicial murder by elements of the security forces and by private armies of drug lords, protected and cosseted by sections of the state. Well documented instances of torture by elements of the army and police are dismissed as ‘roughing up.’”
The statement identified “cronyism and financial skullduggery” as major issues within the country, and referred to “the looting of the public purse” which was confirmed year after year by the Auditor General. The collapse of the country’s education system and the “terminal decline” of the administration of justice were two other issues that were also identified.
Further, the statement said that the trade union movement was “a sad shadow of its former self, its impotence on show with every passing day, bludgeoned into submission in the face of blatant union-busting and subversion of the industrial relations process.” Additionally, the government was accused of “seeking to increase its control of the minds of its citizens by extending its domination over as many sources of information as possible, while restricting the right of citizens to free access to information by owning and controlling the single radio monopoly in the country and stymieing freedom of information legislation.”
The sponsors also said that “a movement is under way to restore hope and re-open the doors of opportunity here in our own country. Such a movement begins with the belief that Guyanese in and out of Guyana have a duty to remove the blight that has settled over the land.”
The advertisement made reference to the right of citizens to control their affairs, which was enshrined in Article 13 of the Constitution which states:
“The principal objective of the political system of the State is to establish an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens, and their organizations in the management and decision-making processes of the State, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being.”
“It will not be easy”, the sponsors noted, “but the work of national revival must begin now. In order to ensure success, it needs the involvement of all Guyanese throughout Guyana and the Diaspora, regardless of race, class or religious belief”, they added.
According to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA), in responding to the immigration issue, the President said that political parties had to act in the best interest of the people, and try to avoid “public hysteria” or use complex regional issues for political purposes. “I think Raphael Trotman and the AFC are using this issue politically. The last thing I want is for that to happen. The government doesn’t have that luxury,” GINA quoted him as saying.
He went on to say that Guyana cannot “determine the immigration policies of Barbados outside of those that are provided in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas,” but would continue to try and ensure that Guyanese were treated “fairly and with dignity.”
Where issues of governance were concerned, he was reported as saying that Guyana was one of the most democratic countries in the hemisphere. “Of the top 192 countries in the world, we’re in the top 30 for the freedom of the press,” he said.
According to the release, Jagdeo said the AFC’s “antics” were intended to create the impression among heads of government that Guyana was violating democratic norms, but that his fellow heads were wise politicians who would recognize that the AFC was trying to exploit the occasion of the conference.
1 Comment (Open | Close)
1 Comment To "Four parties, GTUC appeal to Caricom heads to ‘rekindle hope’ among Guyanese"
#1 Comment By BORAPORK On July 5, 2009 @ 8:53 am
Guyana is doomed as long as the tyranny of the majority rules supreme. Until such time as the majority population groups stop ethnic voting Guyana will be parasitic. When is the World number one beggar leaving to berate some other group for a handout?
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/news/local/07/05/four-parties-gtuc-appeal-to-caricom-heads-to-%e2%80%98rekindle-hope%e2%80%99-among-guyanese/
Posted By Stabroek staff On July 5, 2009 @ 5:09 am In Local News | 1 Comment
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/news/local/07/05/four-parties-gtuc-appeal-to-caricom-heads-to-%e2%80%98rekindle-hope%e2%80%99-among-guyanese/
An appeal to the Caricom Heads of Government to “rekindle hope” among Guyanese citizens was made yesterday via a full-page advertisement in the local newspapers placed by four political parties and a trade union body.
They cited Guyana’s steadily declining population whose young people did not see the country as an option, and the loss of hope in the reconciliation process which was to flow from the Herdmanston Accord and St Lucia Statement.
The Alliance for Change (AFC), GAP-ROAR, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), the United Party, and the Guyana Trades Union Congress said that the hopes that Guyanese had placed in the Herdmanston Accord and St Lucia Statement had gone and the promise of the heads “to remain engaged with our reconciliation process” had not been met. “Guyana continues to hemorrhage,” the advertisement said.
And yesterday President Bharrat Jagdeo responded to the issues of governance and immigration raised in the ad, and singled out the AFC and one of its leaders Khemraj Ramjattan for personal criticism. He lauded Guyana’s democracy, and said the country was in the top 30 where press freedom was concerned.
The advertisement captioned an ‘Open Letter to Caricom Heads of Government’ was placed in yesterday’s edition of the Stabroek News, and expressed the view that the small Guyanese population was not interested in any of the pronouncements of the Heads of Government Conference except the “single issue of the new Barbados immigration practices which make illegal immigrants out of West Indians born in the West Indies.”
“Unlike other crises confronting the region, this one touches intimately and immediately on what our increasingly desperate people see as their very survival,” the advertisement said.
“The hopes that Guyanese had placed in the Herdmanston Accord and St Lucia Statement have been dashed. After a full decade the promise of the Heads of Government to remain engaged with our reconciliation process has been unfulfilled,” and many Guyanese felt “deeply betrayed by the process,” the advertisement said.
The sponsors also stated that the lack of interest shown “is nothing new, since the masses of the Caribbean have long been disconnected from your discussions and decisions about the future. So, whether it be the global financial crisis or the failure of regional regulatory mechanisms to prevent the banditry of a CLICO or a Stanford, the broad masses of Guyanese are unlikely to be distracted from their day to day agonies.”
According to the advertisement:
“The reality is that Guyana is a society in the process of disintegration. Lawlessness stalks the land. Rape and murder of women and girls are on the rise. Guyana is not alone in the region with the growth of violent gun crimes, including extra-judicial murder by elements of the security forces and by private armies of drug lords, protected and cosseted by sections of the state. Well documented instances of torture by elements of the army and police are dismissed as ‘roughing up.’”
The statement identified “cronyism and financial skullduggery” as major issues within the country, and referred to “the looting of the public purse” which was confirmed year after year by the Auditor General. The collapse of the country’s education system and the “terminal decline” of the administration of justice were two other issues that were also identified.
Further, the statement said that the trade union movement was “a sad shadow of its former self, its impotence on show with every passing day, bludgeoned into submission in the face of blatant union-busting and subversion of the industrial relations process.” Additionally, the government was accused of “seeking to increase its control of the minds of its citizens by extending its domination over as many sources of information as possible, while restricting the right of citizens to free access to information by owning and controlling the single radio monopoly in the country and stymieing freedom of information legislation.”
The sponsors also said that “a movement is under way to restore hope and re-open the doors of opportunity here in our own country. Such a movement begins with the belief that Guyanese in and out of Guyana have a duty to remove the blight that has settled over the land.”
The advertisement made reference to the right of citizens to control their affairs, which was enshrined in Article 13 of the Constitution which states:
“The principal objective of the political system of the State is to establish an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens, and their organizations in the management and decision-making processes of the State, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being.”
“It will not be easy”, the sponsors noted, “but the work of national revival must begin now. In order to ensure success, it needs the involvement of all Guyanese throughout Guyana and the Diaspora, regardless of race, class or religious belief”, they added.
According to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA), in responding to the immigration issue, the President said that political parties had to act in the best interest of the people, and try to avoid “public hysteria” or use complex regional issues for political purposes. “I think Raphael Trotman and the AFC are using this issue politically. The last thing I want is for that to happen. The government doesn’t have that luxury,” GINA quoted him as saying.
He went on to say that Guyana cannot “determine the immigration policies of Barbados outside of those that are provided in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas,” but would continue to try and ensure that Guyanese were treated “fairly and with dignity.”
Where issues of governance were concerned, he was reported as saying that Guyana was one of the most democratic countries in the hemisphere. “Of the top 192 countries in the world, we’re in the top 30 for the freedom of the press,” he said.
According to the release, Jagdeo said the AFC’s “antics” were intended to create the impression among heads of government that Guyana was violating democratic norms, but that his fellow heads were wise politicians who would recognize that the AFC was trying to exploit the occasion of the conference.
1 Comment (Open | Close)
1 Comment To "Four parties, GTUC appeal to Caricom heads to ‘rekindle hope’ among Guyanese"
#1 Comment By BORAPORK On July 5, 2009 @ 8:53 am
Guyana is doomed as long as the tyranny of the majority rules supreme. Until such time as the majority population groups stop ethnic voting Guyana will be parasitic. When is the World number one beggar leaving to berate some other group for a handout?
Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/news/local/07/05/four-parties-gtuc-appeal-to-caricom-heads-to-%e2%80%98rekindle-hope%e2%80%99-among-guyanese/
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
AG to undertake 'Value for money audit'
Kaieteur News news item, Wednesday 01 July 2009 - "AG to undertake 'Value for money audit'" - http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/07/01/ag-to-undertake-%e2%80%98value-for-money-audit%e2%80%99/
Kaieteur News news item, Wednesday 01 July 2009
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/07/01/ag-to-undertake-%e2%80%98value-for-money-audit%e2%80%99/
AG to undertake ‘Value for money audit’
July 1, 2009 | By Ananthsa | Filed Under News
…report recommends that Public Procurement Commission be established
The Auditor General will be doing a ‘Value for money audit’ of the National Procurement Board.
But even as this is being anticipated, the 2007 report recommends that every effort be made to have the Public Procurement Commission established.
The AG report said that this should be in place to ensure the independent, impartial and fair discharge of functions in relation to procurement and the benefit to the Board of persons with expertise in procurement, legal, financial and administrative matters.
It was only on Friday last that President Bharrat Jagdeo was questioned about when the administration was going to submit its nominees for this commission and his response was ‘soon.’
The Head of State admitted that the usual ‘toing and froing’ between the government and the People’s National Congress Reform is what led to the delay in the resubmission of the administration’s nominees for the Commission.
A source close to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) told Kaieteur News on Monday that the general functioning of the National Procurement Board cannot operate in a smooth manner because the commission has not been established. This is causing problems.
According to the Act, the National Board shall have responsibility for exercising jurisdiction over tenders as prescribed in the Regulations and the maintenance of an efficient record keeping and quality assurance systems.
The Constitution provides for the establishment of a Public Procurement Commission to monitor public procurement and procedures in order to ensure that the procurement process is conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
In the absence of a Public Procurement Commission, the Auditor General report noted that the Board will also have responsibility for the making of regulations governing the procurement of goods and services, determining the forms of documents for procurement, reporting annually to the Minister of Finance on the effectiveness of the procurement process, organising training seminars regarding procurement, and adjudicating debarment proceedings.
The 2007 Auditor General Report states that the administrations response to this issue was as a consequence of the Commission not being established and in accordance with the Act, the National Board has taken the responsibility for the making of regulations governing the procurement of goods and services.
The Board has also taken responsibility to determining the forms and documents for procurement and reporting to the Minister of Finance on the effectiveness of the procurement system.
According to the report, the Minister of Finance appointed the members of the National Board in November 2004.
The Act states that the Board shall comprise seven members, not more than five from the Public Service and not more than three from the Private Sector.
Just under a week ago, Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, Volda Lawrence, told another section of the media that the delay in submission of the names is holding up the debilitation to commence.
The members of this constitutional commission were supposed to be completed since last July.
Lawrence had said that the PNCR and the Alliance for Change have already submitted their nominees to the body.
Kaieteur News news item, Wednesday 01 July 2009
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/07/01/ag-to-undertake-%e2%80%98value-for-money-audit%e2%80%99/
AG to undertake ‘Value for money audit’
July 1, 2009 | By Ananthsa | Filed Under News
…report recommends that Public Procurement Commission be established
The Auditor General will be doing a ‘Value for money audit’ of the National Procurement Board.
But even as this is being anticipated, the 2007 report recommends that every effort be made to have the Public Procurement Commission established.
The AG report said that this should be in place to ensure the independent, impartial and fair discharge of functions in relation to procurement and the benefit to the Board of persons with expertise in procurement, legal, financial and administrative matters.
It was only on Friday last that President Bharrat Jagdeo was questioned about when the administration was going to submit its nominees for this commission and his response was ‘soon.’
The Head of State admitted that the usual ‘toing and froing’ between the government and the People’s National Congress Reform is what led to the delay in the resubmission of the administration’s nominees for the Commission.
A source close to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) told Kaieteur News on Monday that the general functioning of the National Procurement Board cannot operate in a smooth manner because the commission has not been established. This is causing problems.
According to the Act, the National Board shall have responsibility for exercising jurisdiction over tenders as prescribed in the Regulations and the maintenance of an efficient record keeping and quality assurance systems.
The Constitution provides for the establishment of a Public Procurement Commission to monitor public procurement and procedures in order to ensure that the procurement process is conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
In the absence of a Public Procurement Commission, the Auditor General report noted that the Board will also have responsibility for the making of regulations governing the procurement of goods and services, determining the forms of documents for procurement, reporting annually to the Minister of Finance on the effectiveness of the procurement process, organising training seminars regarding procurement, and adjudicating debarment proceedings.
The 2007 Auditor General Report states that the administrations response to this issue was as a consequence of the Commission not being established and in accordance with the Act, the National Board has taken the responsibility for the making of regulations governing the procurement of goods and services.
The Board has also taken responsibility to determining the forms and documents for procurement and reporting to the Minister of Finance on the effectiveness of the procurement system.
According to the report, the Minister of Finance appointed the members of the National Board in November 2004.
The Act states that the Board shall comprise seven members, not more than five from the Public Service and not more than three from the Private Sector.
Just under a week ago, Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, Volda Lawrence, told another section of the media that the delay in submission of the names is holding up the debilitation to commence.
The members of this constitutional commission were supposed to be completed since last July.
Lawrence had said that the PNCR and the Alliance for Change have already submitted their nominees to the body.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Blatant violations of several laws uncovered
Kaieteur News news item, Saturday 27 June 2009 - "Blatant violations of several laws uncovered" - http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/06/27/blatant-violations-of-several-laws-uncovered/
The Auditor General’s report for 2007 on the Public Accounts of Guyana and on the accounts of the Ministries Department and Regions was made public on Thursday.
Auditor General (ag) Deodat Sharma had said that there were several issues that reoccurred in the report.
In the report, it was pointed out that the explanations for the impact of movements in the underlying economic assumptions and parameters used in the preparation of the annual budget proposals, changes to revenue policies during the year, and slippages, if any, in the delivery of the budget measures were not disclosed in the End of Year Budget Outcome and Reconciliation Report in accordance with the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act.
This, Sharma pointed out, were the reasons for the respective positive variance of $17.9B and negative variance of $7.3B between the estimates of revenue and the actual Government receipts for current and capital revenue not being resolved.
Further, the $3.8B and $2.4B over the allotments between the estimates of expenditure and the actual amount of expenditure during the year for current and capital expenditures could not be ascertained.
He noted, too, that amounts of US$1.1M, equivalent to G$209.5M disbursed as grants to various Government agencies under the United Nations Development Programme, were not incorporated into the revenue of the Public Accounts.
Again this year, the Auditor General in his report said that the Contingencies Fund continued to be abused with amounts drawn from the Fund being utilised to meet expenditures that did not meet the eligibility criteria as defined in the Act.
According to the Statement, amounts totaling $3.1B were drawn from the Fund by way of 115 advances and as at 31 December 2007, sixty-four of these advances totaling $1.459B remained outstanding.
According to Sharma’s report, amounts totaling $623.1M were shown as Contingent Liabilities for entities no longer in existence. The Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General’s Department have still not taken steps to have these liabilities transferred to the Public Debt, the report noted.
Sharma also highlighted the fact that there were several transfers from other accounts to the Consolidated Fund that were not effected. Several accounts had overdrafts.
As it relates to non-effected transfers, the report stated that approximately $7.6B representing balances held in 13 special accounts, a balance of $34.4M held in the General Account, the balance of $9.1B held in a Non-Sub Accounting Ministries and Departments Bank Account as well as 20 inactive bank accounts, of which six had balances in excess of $1M.
As it relates to the overdrafts, the report pointed out that the old Consolidated Fund bank account was overdrawn by $46.9B at the end of December 2007. A further 42 inactive accounts had overdrafts totaling $685.9M.
Of these accounts, 24 were overdrawn by amounts in excess of $1M.
The report also pointed out the continued lack of reporting and accounting for all gifts to Ministries, Departments and Regions and resulted in the Miscellaneous Receipts of $9.9B at the end of December 2007, being understated by an undetermined amount.
Again in 2007, there was a significant amount of overpayments that occurred on measured works for contracts undertaken by Ministries, Departments and Regions.
It was further pointed out that the entities are facing serious challenges in the quest to recover the amounts overpaid.
“Even more troubling is the perceived managerial action in relation to the troubling trend, since there was no evidence to suggest that disciplinary action of any kind has been meted out to engineering or other staff involved in the assessment of works in progress and the certification of progress payments.”
The Auditor General’s Report added also that the slow processing of pay change directives in several Ministries and mainly in the Regions, resulted in overpayments of salary, including related deductions that are paid over to various agencies.
“Ministries, Departments and Regions have faced serious challenges in recovering such sums, particularly because banking institutions require authorisations from account holders to do so, and statutory agencies, such as, the Guyana Revenue Authority and National Insurance Scheme have not complied with requests to refund sums overpaid.”
Some other specific findings by the Auditor General, were that the Guyana Elections Commission overstocked items of stores, resulting in considerable losses due to the expiry of large quantities and in other cases damage by water or obsolescence.
In a related matter, the Commission in April 2007, had entered into an agreement with a local firm to utilise its stock of 268 cartons of Polaroid film in order to salvage its value before the expiration date at the end of that month.
The estimated value of $30.5M is still to be recovered from the firm.
The report said that in instances, the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) failed to observe the requirements of the Procurement Act for its capital works and where these were observed, blanket waivers of these requirements were obtained from the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).
“As a result, capital works executed on vessels were not publicly advertised, with the result that there was a failure to determine whether contracts were awarded at the most competitive prices or to the best responsive bidder.”
It was pointed out also that the Ministry of Education was exposed to great financial risks because of deficiencies in the preparation of contract documents, that rendered them powerless should contractors renege on agreements, provide substandard works or fail to show due diligence in the execution of works.
Also, in contravention of the Constitution of Guyana, a Public Procurement Commission to monitor public procurement and the procedures has not been appointed.
The Auditor General pointed out that as a consequence of the Commission not being established and in accordance with the Act, the National Board has the responsibility for the making of regulations governing the procurement of goods and services, determining the forms and documents for procurement and reporting to the Minister of Finance on the effectiveness of the procurement system, while organising training seminars regarding procurement and adjudicating debarment proceedings.
The Auditor General’s report for 2007 on the Public Accounts of Guyana and on the accounts of the Ministries Department and Regions was made public on Thursday.
Auditor General (ag) Deodat Sharma had said that there were several issues that reoccurred in the report.
In the report, it was pointed out that the explanations for the impact of movements in the underlying economic assumptions and parameters used in the preparation of the annual budget proposals, changes to revenue policies during the year, and slippages, if any, in the delivery of the budget measures were not disclosed in the End of Year Budget Outcome and Reconciliation Report in accordance with the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act.
This, Sharma pointed out, were the reasons for the respective positive variance of $17.9B and negative variance of $7.3B between the estimates of revenue and the actual Government receipts for current and capital revenue not being resolved.
Further, the $3.8B and $2.4B over the allotments between the estimates of expenditure and the actual amount of expenditure during the year for current and capital expenditures could not be ascertained.
He noted, too, that amounts of US$1.1M, equivalent to G$209.5M disbursed as grants to various Government agencies under the United Nations Development Programme, were not incorporated into the revenue of the Public Accounts.
Again this year, the Auditor General in his report said that the Contingencies Fund continued to be abused with amounts drawn from the Fund being utilised to meet expenditures that did not meet the eligibility criteria as defined in the Act.
According to the Statement, amounts totaling $3.1B were drawn from the Fund by way of 115 advances and as at 31 December 2007, sixty-four of these advances totaling $1.459B remained outstanding.
According to Sharma’s report, amounts totaling $623.1M were shown as Contingent Liabilities for entities no longer in existence. The Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General’s Department have still not taken steps to have these liabilities transferred to the Public Debt, the report noted.
Sharma also highlighted the fact that there were several transfers from other accounts to the Consolidated Fund that were not effected. Several accounts had overdrafts.
As it relates to non-effected transfers, the report stated that approximately $7.6B representing balances held in 13 special accounts, a balance of $34.4M held in the General Account, the balance of $9.1B held in a Non-Sub Accounting Ministries and Departments Bank Account as well as 20 inactive bank accounts, of which six had balances in excess of $1M.
As it relates to the overdrafts, the report pointed out that the old Consolidated Fund bank account was overdrawn by $46.9B at the end of December 2007. A further 42 inactive accounts had overdrafts totaling $685.9M.
Of these accounts, 24 were overdrawn by amounts in excess of $1M.
The report also pointed out the continued lack of reporting and accounting for all gifts to Ministries, Departments and Regions and resulted in the Miscellaneous Receipts of $9.9B at the end of December 2007, being understated by an undetermined amount.
Again in 2007, there was a significant amount of overpayments that occurred on measured works for contracts undertaken by Ministries, Departments and Regions.
It was further pointed out that the entities are facing serious challenges in the quest to recover the amounts overpaid.
“Even more troubling is the perceived managerial action in relation to the troubling trend, since there was no evidence to suggest that disciplinary action of any kind has been meted out to engineering or other staff involved in the assessment of works in progress and the certification of progress payments.”
The Auditor General’s Report added also that the slow processing of pay change directives in several Ministries and mainly in the Regions, resulted in overpayments of salary, including related deductions that are paid over to various agencies.
“Ministries, Departments and Regions have faced serious challenges in recovering such sums, particularly because banking institutions require authorisations from account holders to do so, and statutory agencies, such as, the Guyana Revenue Authority and National Insurance Scheme have not complied with requests to refund sums overpaid.”
Some other specific findings by the Auditor General, were that the Guyana Elections Commission overstocked items of stores, resulting in considerable losses due to the expiry of large quantities and in other cases damage by water or obsolescence.
In a related matter, the Commission in April 2007, had entered into an agreement with a local firm to utilise its stock of 268 cartons of Polaroid film in order to salvage its value before the expiration date at the end of that month.
The estimated value of $30.5M is still to be recovered from the firm.
The report said that in instances, the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) failed to observe the requirements of the Procurement Act for its capital works and where these were observed, blanket waivers of these requirements were obtained from the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).
“As a result, capital works executed on vessels were not publicly advertised, with the result that there was a failure to determine whether contracts were awarded at the most competitive prices or to the best responsive bidder.”
It was pointed out also that the Ministry of Education was exposed to great financial risks because of deficiencies in the preparation of contract documents, that rendered them powerless should contractors renege on agreements, provide substandard works or fail to show due diligence in the execution of works.
Also, in contravention of the Constitution of Guyana, a Public Procurement Commission to monitor public procurement and the procedures has not been appointed.
The Auditor General pointed out that as a consequence of the Commission not being established and in accordance with the Act, the National Board has the responsibility for the making of regulations governing the procurement of goods and services, determining the forms and documents for procurement and reporting to the Minister of Finance on the effectiveness of the procurement system, while organising training seminars regarding procurement and adjudicating debarment proceedings.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Any breaches of the law must be penalized - Ramjattan
Any breaches of the law must be penalized - Ramjattan
June 25, 2009 | By knews | Filed Under News
Now that there is a functioning Auditor General’s Office, the reports highlight the many monumental breaches of the law and the patently corrupt acts.
There must now be major reforms, both administratively and institutionally, which by necessity must involve penalizing those who commit breaches of the law and acts of corruption, said Khemraj Ramjattan.
The Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday told this newspaper, “Under the PNC regime Guyana did not have a functional Auditor General, except for the latter years of Desmond Hoyte. The PPP used to criticise this most vigorously….It used to be champions for financial probity and scrutiny.”
He noted that today under the PPP, the Auditor General is there doing a good job and discovering massive corruption and “what does the PPP as Government and Party do and say in light of these revelations of monumental breaches of the law and patently corrupt acts?… It simply consoles itself with the fact that there is now an A.G. who investigates, as against the PNC time when there was none.”
This is most unsatisfactory to the Guyanese people, and is an insult to them, Ramjattan added.
He said that this PPP is no different from the then maligned PNC and does nothing to remedy the obvious causes of corruption, even when the AG and the Public Accounts Committee forcefully recommend what has to be done.
“We are stuck in the same boat.”
According to Ramjattan, Guyanese are getting fed up with President Jagdeo as leader of Government and Ramotar as leader of the Party for their intransigence. “When a little Indian or Negro boy thief even a mango to feed himself, this Government wants him locked up.”
He cited the utterances of Minister Clement Rohee who recently announced, “Larceny must not be condoned no matter what the circumstances.”
“Yet when millions and even billions are stolen from the government coffers by officials in the hierarchy, that is economics; not larceny or robbery.”
June 25, 2009 | By knews | Filed Under News
Now that there is a functioning Auditor General’s Office, the reports highlight the many monumental breaches of the law and the patently corrupt acts.
There must now be major reforms, both administratively and institutionally, which by necessity must involve penalizing those who commit breaches of the law and acts of corruption, said Khemraj Ramjattan.
The Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday told this newspaper, “Under the PNC regime Guyana did not have a functional Auditor General, except for the latter years of Desmond Hoyte. The PPP used to criticise this most vigorously….It used to be champions for financial probity and scrutiny.”
He noted that today under the PPP, the Auditor General is there doing a good job and discovering massive corruption and “what does the PPP as Government and Party do and say in light of these revelations of monumental breaches of the law and patently corrupt acts?… It simply consoles itself with the fact that there is now an A.G. who investigates, as against the PNC time when there was none.”
This is most unsatisfactory to the Guyanese people, and is an insult to them, Ramjattan added.
He said that this PPP is no different from the then maligned PNC and does nothing to remedy the obvious causes of corruption, even when the AG and the Public Accounts Committee forcefully recommend what has to be done.
“We are stuck in the same boat.”
According to Ramjattan, Guyanese are getting fed up with President Jagdeo as leader of Government and Ramotar as leader of the Party for their intransigence. “When a little Indian or Negro boy thief even a mango to feed himself, this Government wants him locked up.”
He cited the utterances of Minister Clement Rohee who recently announced, “Larceny must not be condoned no matter what the circumstances.”
“Yet when millions and even billions are stolen from the government coffers by officials in the hierarchy, that is economics; not larceny or robbery.”
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Is the government encouraging corruption?
Kaieteur News Editorial, Tuesday 23 June 2009
http://www.kaieteurnews.com/
Is the government encouraging corruption?
June 23, 2009 | By knews | Filed Under Editorial
The Auditor General has once more revealed what can only be termed blatant disregard for accounting procedures and for the rule of law. The most damning comment to come out in the wake of the report has been the findings on the award of contracts to the local drug manufacturing company.
The law states that sums from the public treasury over a certain sum for certain contracts must go to the Central Tender Board. However, the Auditor General has unearthed the splitting of contracts to avoid going to the Central Tender Board. This is corruption at its worst.
For the past two years the Auditor General has been reporting on this, but it continues. There is blatant disregard for the procedures and utter disrespect for the people of Guyana. The least one could have expected would have been some effort to curb the practice in light of the exposure.
This past week, the Parliamentary sub-committee called in the officials of the Georgetown Public Hospital and the Ministry of Health to account for certain disbursements ostensibly for the purchase of drugs from the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC).
Of major focus was the Cabinet ‘No Objection’ to contracts. A piece of correspondence dated May 7, 2009, indicated that there was a Cabinet ‘No Objection’ for the procurement of drugs worth US$76,681 ($15.3 M). The National Procurement and Tender Board by way of a note stated that once the contract was awarded between the Ministry of Health and the New GPC, the sheet should be returned to the tender board. This was not done.
Two weeks later there was again a Cabinet ‘No Objection’ for an award of US$2,681,293 ($536 million). This should have been the preserve of the Central Tender Board but once more there is this disregard.
Last year, when this was brought to the attention of the Minister of Health, he acknowledged that there were mistakes in the contracts and that having taken note of the Auditor General such mistakes would be corrected in light of the new legislation. Nothing has happened and the lawlessness continues under the guise of administrative instructions. Mr. Winston Murray, a member of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, stated that Cabinet did not have the authority to waive the tender process that is outlined in the law.
He is correct. Excuses that the new law allows for a waiver of the tender process cannot hold water because it does not. “Public tendering is mandatory under the law and for such tendering an invitation to tender must be had,” Murray said.
Murray also said that a provision in the law for selective tendering, given complexity or specialized nature, is available only from a limited number of suppliers but he emphasized that such suppliers shall be invited to submit.
Now this was made clear since last year, but the government continues the process of operating outside the regulation. This is clearly a total disregard for the law and for conventions.
We are still at a loss to understand why the government still refuses to pass the Lotto Funds through the Consolidated Fund. This was mandatory and for years the various Opposition Members of Parliament have been making this case. Whatever they say has been falling on deaf ears because the government simply ignores any argument made for the upholding of the law.
There is a lot wrong here. It is small wonder that there is so much fraud in government ministries and departments because the disregard for the law allows these departments to do whatever they wish. Queries are then answered either with an apology and a promise to adhere to the law, or with basic silence as if to say to the public that it is none of your business.
In some countries, there would be a clamouring for prosecution of those who breach the law, but in Guyana there is a stony silence on the part of the majority of those who are supposed to look after the interest of the nation.
The society should remain silent no longer. It is their money that is being spent in so cavalier a manner. The government must be made to account for its indiscretion.
http://www.kaieteurnews.com/
Is the government encouraging corruption?
June 23, 2009 | By knews | Filed Under Editorial
The Auditor General has once more revealed what can only be termed blatant disregard for accounting procedures and for the rule of law. The most damning comment to come out in the wake of the report has been the findings on the award of contracts to the local drug manufacturing company.
The law states that sums from the public treasury over a certain sum for certain contracts must go to the Central Tender Board. However, the Auditor General has unearthed the splitting of contracts to avoid going to the Central Tender Board. This is corruption at its worst.
For the past two years the Auditor General has been reporting on this, but it continues. There is blatant disregard for the procedures and utter disrespect for the people of Guyana. The least one could have expected would have been some effort to curb the practice in light of the exposure.
This past week, the Parliamentary sub-committee called in the officials of the Georgetown Public Hospital and the Ministry of Health to account for certain disbursements ostensibly for the purchase of drugs from the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC).
Of major focus was the Cabinet ‘No Objection’ to contracts. A piece of correspondence dated May 7, 2009, indicated that there was a Cabinet ‘No Objection’ for the procurement of drugs worth US$76,681 ($15.3 M). The National Procurement and Tender Board by way of a note stated that once the contract was awarded between the Ministry of Health and the New GPC, the sheet should be returned to the tender board. This was not done.
Two weeks later there was again a Cabinet ‘No Objection’ for an award of US$2,681,293 ($536 million). This should have been the preserve of the Central Tender Board but once more there is this disregard.
Last year, when this was brought to the attention of the Minister of Health, he acknowledged that there were mistakes in the contracts and that having taken note of the Auditor General such mistakes would be corrected in light of the new legislation. Nothing has happened and the lawlessness continues under the guise of administrative instructions. Mr. Winston Murray, a member of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, stated that Cabinet did not have the authority to waive the tender process that is outlined in the law.
He is correct. Excuses that the new law allows for a waiver of the tender process cannot hold water because it does not. “Public tendering is mandatory under the law and for such tendering an invitation to tender must be had,” Murray said.
Murray also said that a provision in the law for selective tendering, given complexity or specialized nature, is available only from a limited number of suppliers but he emphasized that such suppliers shall be invited to submit.
Now this was made clear since last year, but the government continues the process of operating outside the regulation. This is clearly a total disregard for the law and for conventions.
We are still at a loss to understand why the government still refuses to pass the Lotto Funds through the Consolidated Fund. This was mandatory and for years the various Opposition Members of Parliament have been making this case. Whatever they say has been falling on deaf ears because the government simply ignores any argument made for the upholding of the law.
There is a lot wrong here. It is small wonder that there is so much fraud in government ministries and departments because the disregard for the law allows these departments to do whatever they wish. Queries are then answered either with an apology and a promise to adhere to the law, or with basic silence as if to say to the public that it is none of your business.
In some countries, there would be a clamouring for prosecution of those who breach the law, but in Guyana there is a stony silence on the part of the majority of those who are supposed to look after the interest of the nation.
The society should remain silent no longer. It is their money that is being spent in so cavalier a manner. The government must be made to account for its indiscretion.
Cabinet breached the law- Parliamentary Committee
Kaieteur News news item, Tuesday 23 June 2009
http://www.kaieteurnews.com/
Cabinet breached the law- Parliamentary Committee
June 23, 2009 | By knews | Filed Under News
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Hydar Ally, along with a team of officials from that Ministry yesterday appeared before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee to submit to scrutiny and to offer explanations for discrepancies highlighted in the 2006 Auditor General’s report.
One of the issues that featured prominently was the way in which the Ministry purchased its drugs, which according to Shadow Finance Minister, was in violation of the Procurement Laws of Guyana.
Ally told the House that the Ministry was not in violation of the procurement and provided the PAC with three letters from the National Procurement and Tender Administration which stated, “Please be advised that Cabinet has given no objection for the contract, ‘Purchase of Drugs and Medical Supplies for the Ministry of Health’ to be awarded to the New GPC Inc.
The letters indicated approval for the purchase of drugs from New GPC for as much as US$2.6M.
This, he said, was evidence of the Tender Board waiving the need to go through the tender process.
According to Murray, Cabinet did not have the authority to waive the tender process that is outlined in the law.
He noted that further directing the Ministry to purchase from New GPC was a vexed issue.
According to Murray, public tendering is mandatory under the law and for such tendering an invitation to tender must be had.
Murray also said that a provision in the law for selective tendering, given complexity or specialised nature, is available only from a limited number of suppliers, but he emphasised that such suppliers shall be invited to submit.
He added that in any case there must be a competitive process before arriving at a supplier.
Chief Executive Officer of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Michael Khan, also appeared before the committee and was questioned about the hospital’s drug purchasing policy.
Khan told the members of the Committee that purchases below $6M would be done through the hospital tender board and invitations for bids would be made public.
He noted however, that purchases above that limit would see the Ministry’s Procurement Department identifying a supplier.
When the issue was first raised by this newspaper in August last year, Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, had admitted that his Ministry made a mistake as it relates to the procurement process in purchasing drugs and medical supplies.
The recent Auditor General’s report in question, stated that the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), which is now a separate entity from the Ministry of Health, continued to use the Ministry’s Cabinet approval to purchase drugs and medical supplies from specialised agencies, both locally and overseas.
It was explained that before the Procurement Bill was passed in Parliament in 2004, the Health Ministry would seek Cabinet’s approval for the purchase of the drugs and medical supplies, which, according to Dr Ramsammy, was legal.
However, when the Procurement Bill was enacted into law in 2004, the Ministry had to receive the approval from the tender board.
This was not done, as the Ministry continued to seek Cabinet’s consent. In essence, the Health Ministry kept breaking the law when it did not seek the tender board’s approval for the purchase of drugs and medical supplies totalling hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Auditor General report stated that the Health Ministry spent $608.4 million on drugs and medical supplies and could not “totally account for (these) drugs and medical supplies.” According to Minister Ramsammy, this has now been corrected.
“The Procurement Act says that the tender board approves and that Cabinet has its chance to give no objection. So we can’t change the recommendation; we can tell them that we don’t like the recommendation,” Minister Ramsammy noted.
He added, “The Auditor General is not saying it is corruption; the Auditor General is saying that it is the process, but people are making a big deal as if some hanky panky has happened, but it’ s nothing like that,” Dr Ramsammy stressed.
The Auditor General’s report had also stated that, during 2006, amounts totalling $608.4 million was expended on drugs and medical supplies, for which the corporation could not give total accountability.
Minister Ramsammy explained that when the supplies were purchased, the corporation did not have the storage space for them. In this regard, the GPHC asked the supplier to release the supplies over time.
“So, if I have ordered 100 crates and I have space for only five, I would take the five and collect the rest later. So we took possession of the 100, but we only have five with us, and then as we move on, we take the rest. We have always accounted for our supplies,” Dr Ramsammy said. He said that some of the drugs would be stored at a small GPHC bond and the remainder at the Health Ministry bond. When the Auditor General checked, he could not find all the drugs at the GPHC.
Dr Ramsammy said his Ministry sent an explanation to the Auditor General but it would seem that the response was ignored.
http://www.kaieteurnews.com/
Cabinet breached the law- Parliamentary Committee
June 23, 2009 | By knews | Filed Under News
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Hydar Ally, along with a team of officials from that Ministry yesterday appeared before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee to submit to scrutiny and to offer explanations for discrepancies highlighted in the 2006 Auditor General’s report.
One of the issues that featured prominently was the way in which the Ministry purchased its drugs, which according to Shadow Finance Minister, was in violation of the Procurement Laws of Guyana.
Ally told the House that the Ministry was not in violation of the procurement and provided the PAC with three letters from the National Procurement and Tender Administration which stated, “Please be advised that Cabinet has given no objection for the contract, ‘Purchase of Drugs and Medical Supplies for the Ministry of Health’ to be awarded to the New GPC Inc.
The letters indicated approval for the purchase of drugs from New GPC for as much as US$2.6M.
This, he said, was evidence of the Tender Board waiving the need to go through the tender process.
According to Murray, Cabinet did not have the authority to waive the tender process that is outlined in the law.
He noted that further directing the Ministry to purchase from New GPC was a vexed issue.
According to Murray, public tendering is mandatory under the law and for such tendering an invitation to tender must be had.
Murray also said that a provision in the law for selective tendering, given complexity or specialised nature, is available only from a limited number of suppliers, but he emphasised that such suppliers shall be invited to submit.
He added that in any case there must be a competitive process before arriving at a supplier.
Chief Executive Officer of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Michael Khan, also appeared before the committee and was questioned about the hospital’s drug purchasing policy.
Khan told the members of the Committee that purchases below $6M would be done through the hospital tender board and invitations for bids would be made public.
He noted however, that purchases above that limit would see the Ministry’s Procurement Department identifying a supplier.
When the issue was first raised by this newspaper in August last year, Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, had admitted that his Ministry made a mistake as it relates to the procurement process in purchasing drugs and medical supplies.
The recent Auditor General’s report in question, stated that the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), which is now a separate entity from the Ministry of Health, continued to use the Ministry’s Cabinet approval to purchase drugs and medical supplies from specialised agencies, both locally and overseas.
It was explained that before the Procurement Bill was passed in Parliament in 2004, the Health Ministry would seek Cabinet’s approval for the purchase of the drugs and medical supplies, which, according to Dr Ramsammy, was legal.
However, when the Procurement Bill was enacted into law in 2004, the Ministry had to receive the approval from the tender board.
This was not done, as the Ministry continued to seek Cabinet’s consent. In essence, the Health Ministry kept breaking the law when it did not seek the tender board’s approval for the purchase of drugs and medical supplies totalling hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Auditor General report stated that the Health Ministry spent $608.4 million on drugs and medical supplies and could not “totally account for (these) drugs and medical supplies.” According to Minister Ramsammy, this has now been corrected.
“The Procurement Act says that the tender board approves and that Cabinet has its chance to give no objection. So we can’t change the recommendation; we can tell them that we don’t like the recommendation,” Minister Ramsammy noted.
He added, “The Auditor General is not saying it is corruption; the Auditor General is saying that it is the process, but people are making a big deal as if some hanky panky has happened, but it’ s nothing like that,” Dr Ramsammy stressed.
The Auditor General’s report had also stated that, during 2006, amounts totalling $608.4 million was expended on drugs and medical supplies, for which the corporation could not give total accountability.
Minister Ramsammy explained that when the supplies were purchased, the corporation did not have the storage space for them. In this regard, the GPHC asked the supplier to release the supplies over time.
“So, if I have ordered 100 crates and I have space for only five, I would take the five and collect the rest later. So we took possession of the 100, but we only have five with us, and then as we move on, we take the rest. We have always accounted for our supplies,” Dr Ramsammy said. He said that some of the drugs would be stored at a small GPHC bond and the remainder at the Health Ministry bond. When the Auditor General checked, he could not find all the drugs at the GPHC.
Dr Ramsammy said his Ministry sent an explanation to the Auditor General but it would seem that the response was ignored.
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