Police $90M elections fund…Excess funds only repaid after public exposure

While the Auditor General has cleared the Guyana Police Force of the alleged malpractice with regard to the spending of $90M allocated for the 2011 elections duties, there still remains a grey area of why the surplus money was still in the police account after December 31, 2011.

CLEMENT ROHEE

The police in accounting for the money given to them in November to feed inlying ranks and provide transportation for the elections period, had admitted that “the remaining sum of $10,516,178 is still in the Force’s accounting system.”

That was in March this year, and it was only after questions began surfacing about the money that this anomaly was rectified and the surplus returned to the Consolidated Fund.

Last week the Ministry of Home Affairs released a report from the Auditor General, which while unearthing no major misappropriation, pointed to some accounting procedures that need to be rectified.

The audit was commissioned following an allegation by Divisional Commander E&F Division, David Ramnarine, that he was forced to seek help from members of the public to feed his ranks during the period immediately before, during, and after the General Elections, since there was no allocation of funds to his Division during the period of inlynment.

It was later verified that Ramnarine’s Division was in receipt of monies and ration.

However, both money and ration were not received in a timely manner, resulting in Ramnarine making the claim.

The audit found that the sum of $43.008M was paid into the Police Welfare Fund on November 25, 2011 via nine cheques; that is the Friday before Elections Day , which was the following Monday November 28, 2011.
“As a result, the Force had to implement urgent measures to ensure the adequate feeding of its ranks during the elections inlynment.”

It should be noted that the monies paid into the Welfare Fund were based on a rate of $1200 per day to feed one rank, an amount that would have validated the claims of inadequacy by some Divisional Commanders, including Ramnarine and Steve Merai who at the time was serving in Berbice.

And given the geographical spread of the E&F Division that Ramnarine was in charge of, the figure took on a lesser value, and even much lesser value when taken into account that the division was inlying from November 23, two days prior to the official police inlynment date.

There was a big public spat on the matter, prompting the intervention of Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, who tried to reduce the impact of the embarrassment it had caused his Ministry.

But instead it exploded, leading to Rohee expressing

a loss of confidence in the Commander and calling on Commissioner of Police (acting) Leroy Brumell to institute disciplinary action against him.

Meanwhile, the police in a desperate attempt to clear itself of accusations of misappropriation of funds, issued a statement detailing how the monies were spent.

It even made public a copy of a cheque issued to Ramnarine for the feeding of his ranks during the period in question.

According to the police, during 2011, the Guyana Police Force prepared a budget of proposed activities for the General and Regional Elections, which was submitted to the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Home Affairs.

DAVID RAMNARINE

Subsequently, supplementary provisions were received by the Force during November, 2011 in the sum of $90,649,200.

The police said that of this amount, $39,641,200 was for the shortfall on voted provisions and $51,008,000 was received under the line item 6261 – local travelling and subsistence – which also caters for the feeding of police ranks during the inlying period for Elections.

“The Force wishes to clarify that the sum allotted to the police for elections duties was $51,008.000.00 and not the total $90,649,200,” the police had said in a statement.

Of the money received, the police said that $8M was to facilitate the cost of travelling expenses and the remaining $43,008,000 was brought to account by the police.

A total sum of $32,491,822.00 was drawn out to Police Divisions, Police Headquarters and Special Constabulary Headquarters to meet expenditure for the feeding of ranks, according to the police.

The Force explained that Police Divisions, Police Headquarters and the Special Constabulary Headquarters were allocated “cash” and “commodities” from the Police Consumers’ Cooperative Society Limited and other outlets for the feeding of ranks.

That statement was issued in March this year, and it was only at this point that the police indicated that it had in its account, $10M, which was not utilized from the amount in its welfare fund.

According to the audit report from the office of the Auditor General, after monies were disbursed to the various Divisions in the form of goods totaling $29,262 and cash advances amounting to $3,230, from the $43,008, “the difference of $10.516M was refunded to the Consolidated Fund in March 2012. This resulted in the Force’s Appropriation Account for 2011 to be overstated by the said amount.”

“Why this was the case, no one really knows. Maybe it was because the matter was exposed publicly that, that accounting anomaly was brought out,” said a well respected local accountant, who requested anonymity.
“Examination of the documents and records related to the purchase, distribution and utilisation of the food items revealed the following:  Adequate records were maintained for the receipt and utilisation of food items ($21.809M) that were supplied to Headquarters, ‘A’ and `D’ Divisions, Tactical Services Unit and Special Constabulary; records were only maintained for items valued $0.640M of the total worth of $3.140M received in `B’ Division,” the recent auditor general report stated.

According to the report it was explained that the food items were distributed to the three sub-divisions, Fort Wellington, New Amsterdam and Whim Police Stations, who further distributed the items in appropriate quantities to the other stations under each sub-division.

In the absence of records, officers at the various Police Stations submitted statements attesting to the receipt and utilisation of items for the feeding of ranks during the elections inlynment.

The contentious E & F’ Division, which covers all the interior locations, including Linden was supplied with food items valued $1.377M; however, no record was maintained for the receipt and utilisation of the items, the audit found.

Notwithstanding this, statements were provided by the relevant Ranks at various Stations attesting to the receipt and utilisation of the food items they would have received and utilized.

The audit report stated that with the exception of ‘B’, E & F’ and `G’ Divisions, there was general consensus that the system used for the feeding of the Ranks worked effectively, and that the food items supplied were adequate to feed their Ranks during the Inlynment period.

It was added that this system was better than giving the Commanders the cash and have them source the food items.

This, the report said, would have put a strain on them, since additional time and effort would have to be spent on acquiring the items, instead of totally concentrating on technical work in a time where security is required to be at its optimum.

The Officers who were stationed at B’ and “E & F’ Divisions contended that the system could have also worked in their respective Divisions.
However, the items should have been supplied in a timely manner; one or two weeks prior to the Inlynment, since it takes quite some time to reach all the locations under the Divisions.

“It was also stated that the items received were inadequate for the feeding of the Ranks during the Inlynment period, and that much needed assistance had to be sought from private individuals and businesses to support the feeding of the Ranks.

“However, the assistance received was not documented.”
The Head of the Force’s Budget Agency acknowledged the Audit Office’s findings, and assured that steps will be taken to avoid these situations in the future.

The Audit Office recommended that funds should be budgeted in “Elections Year” for future Elections instead of seeking Contingency Fund Advances; the release of funds for Elections should be done in a timely manner so as to provide the Force with adequate time and resources to properly manage activities associated with Elections; and the Force should ensure there is proper record-keeping for all funds related to its activities, especially the outlying Divisions.

Gifts and other assistance received should also be well documented and accounted for.