Recommendations of the Auditor

General… Attorney General turns a

blind eye to prosecuting “non-

compliant” Ministries

- suggests he condones financial irregularities – AFC Leader

Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, says that he is against proposals to seemingly strengthen the powers of the Auditor General to make “lax Ministries” comply with his recommendations.
The Attorney-at-law says that the power to bring these indisciplined Ministries in line lies with the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall.
The misappropriation of billions of taxpayers’ dollars and the lack of accountability by some ministries that have been quite negligent in obeying the recommendations of the Auditor General to correct financial irregularities has, and still continues, to worry many members of the political sphere.
More particularly, Ramjattan is of the opinion that the Attorney General, Anil Nandlall has the power to bring those persons responsible for not adhering to the Auditor’s recommendations before the court.
Ramjattan explained, “When the Auditor General makes recommendations it is that Ministry that must adhere to it. But if the Ministry does not conform to that recommendation, it is breaching a law. The Attorney General can bring the said Ministry to the books or the courts in that regard. It is a clear basis for prosecution under Section 85 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act.”
The Member of Parliament added, “The Attorney General can also go to the Director of Public Prosecution and take the necessary steps to prosecute those who are in breach of the instructions of the Auditor General.
“Apparently, the Attorney General does not understand his powers and the laws. He can indicate to the DPP that an accounting officer is not acting in accordance with the FMA Act. He then writes out the statements and let it be the basis for prosecution.
“The Attorney General, by virtue of turning a blind eye to another step called prosecution, is also condoning the activities.”
Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, had said in a previous interview that he has no power to make ministries and other budgetary agencies comply with his recommendations. He said that it is the National Assembly through its Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that would have the responsibility to ensure such.
When contacted, the Chairman of the PAC, Carl Greenidge, and Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, debunked those claims. They said that the National Assembly has no such power.
Trotman said that there were instances where the word of the Parliament was so respected that the mere mention of irregularities in certain areas moved the government to make immediate corrections.
But over the years, there continues to be erosion for the respect of the word of the Parliament. The slip into this phase worries the Speaker.
With this in mind, there was the suggestion that the Auditor General could propose to the National Assembly suggestions to strengthen his powers to make Ministries comply with his “corrective measures.”
“While this is a situation that worries me and we continue to look forward for new ways to ensure compliance, this is something that I would welcome. In fact, the PAC need not wait on the AG to start drafting proposals; they can assist in that process and help to make recommendations.”
PAC Chairman also expressed that there would be no problem on the part of the PAC to make recommendations where necessary for the strengthening of the AG’s powers.
Greenidge said, “I have no problem with that. But the AG under the Act can bring before the PAC recommendations to do that too. The fact that he has not brought a proposal before the Public Accounts Committee suggests that he does not see a problem with the inadequacy of his powers