After five years…Gov’t. fails to honour promises to improve accountability

The Alliance For Change (AFC) has emphatically stated that it is dissatisfied with the government’s behavior as it relates to following through on its promises to improve financial systems and accountability which were outlined in its last Treasury Memorandum in 2009. This was stated by Trevor Williams, AFC’s Member of Parliament who sits on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The Treasury Memorandum details Government’s comments on, and actions that Government has taken or intends to undertake in response to the report of the Public Accounts Committee. The report of the Public Accounts Committee would be done after they would have scrutinized the report of the Auditor General, which speaks on how Ministries and agencies have used funds allocated to them.

AFC Member of Parliament, Trevor Williams

In the last Treasury Memorandum 2009, the Ministry of Finance said that it continues to recognize that many of the issues raised by the Auditor General in his reports, as well as the concerns highlighted in the reports of the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly, will continue to be reduced through the use of prudent financial management policies, improved information technology, and closer monitoring of the activities within the agencies through the conduct of frequent inspections and the conduct of ongoing training programmes. Additionally, in support of this modernization process, Government introduced the Integrated Financial Management and Accountability System (IFMAS), which assisted in further transforming the financial management architecture of the Public Sector, but more specifically the Central Government Agencies, as it facilitated the introduction and utilization of a single bank account for all Central Government transactions, as well as the automation of financial systems. The government in the 2009 Treasury Memorandum said that a number of steps were taken by a number of Agencies to reduce, if not eliminate the occurrence of over payments to contractors. One of these steps included employment of engineers and the establishment of field audit units, which serve to provide the necessary technical capabilities as well as audit oversight. In relation to the Non-adherence to Stores Regulation, the Ministry of Finance outlined that the newly established and operationalized Internal Audit Division will assist in further strengthening the current system of internal controls through its monitoring of storekeeping practices. Heads of the Budget Agencies have been urged to ensure that there is compliance in this regard. However, this was in stark contrast to what this newspaper discovered after several discussions with staff of the Division, its Head and even the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh. It was revealed that the Internal Audit Division was only established last year. However, in light of the aforementioned steps that the Ministry said it has taken and will continue to take, Williams of the AFC pointed out that the Government still continues to underperform. In a recent interview Williams said, “There are many issues that keep recurring. Yes there are some cases where a few issues were cleared up but the Committee is still concerned about a number of issues that still show themselves in the 2010 and 2011 Auditor General’s report and we are not satisfied with this. Even though we have not started the 2012 Auditor General Report, I have made a check of it and it’s still the same issues recurring such as the overpayments to contractors.” “Government said in their 2009 Treasury Memorandum that they would deal with these issues in a number of ways and as such they have not held firm to their promise to improving financial systems. We keep seeing ridiculous slip ups with some of these agencies. Overpayment to contractors remains an issue as cited in the 2010, 2011 and even the 2012 report, even though it is not yet up for examination by the PAC. The fact that we continue to see this clearly says that the government is underperforming from 2009 to now. Promises to assure improvement in certain areas have been broken. Government needs to take its Treasury Memorandum more seriously and not see it as something that they just have to produce.” Williams made a call for the government to take a serious stance when it comes to these highlighted irregularities and ensure that it upholds measures which promote accountability. This Treasury Memorandum continues to be an integral part of the Government’s systematic drive and on-going efforts to improve Public Financial Management in general and in particular, transparency and accountability in the conduct of Government’s business.