| – Former Auditor General Hundreds of millions of dollars over the years have been transferred from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to repair roads in the interior, but all was not right in placing those monies in the bank accounts of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).According to former Auditor General, Dr. Anand Goolsarran, it is inappropriate for funds to be transferred to NICIL to build a road on behalf of the Commission, since NICIL is not the competent government agency for the construction of such roads. This is also applicable to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), another independent government body that regulates the logging industry.Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni SinghThere have been criticisms of the transfers over time, but while government has been defending the moves saying that the roads, critical for operations of mining and forestry activities, have to be repaired and maintained, there has not been any satisfactory explanations as to why NICIL was chosen.NICIL is a government-owned company that handles investments for government and over the years has been criticized for initiating projects without the scrutiny of the National Assembly.Projects being handled by NICIL include the US$51M Marriott Hotel and the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project, which is expected to cost at least US$840M, among two of Guyana most expensive initiatives to date.All monies from the Consolidated Fund, the central account where the countries revenues are placed, have to be approved by the National Assembly.Opposition Members of Parliament have been complaining that NICIL, GFC and GGMC should all be placing their excess funds in the Consolidated Fund since it belongs to the taxpayers and should not be used without approval.Between August and December last year, more than $750M was transferred from GGMC to NICIL, it has been reported.Already, opposition members have threatened to introduce legislation that would force more accountability and transparency from a number of independent, government-owned state agencies.According to Dr. Goolsarran, who has been fiercely critical in his weekly newspaper columns of what he believed to be deviations from requirements by government entities, he examined the regulations of both GGMC and GFC, and there is nothing that states it has to transfer monies to NICIL.As a matter of fact, opposition MPs had made the same point…that NICIL is not a construction company.Dr. Goolsarran explained that the GGMC funds comprise sums appropriated by Parliament; sums allocated to it from loan funds; repayments of loans made; monies earned from property, investments etc. and borrowings to meet the Commission’s obligations or to discharge its functions. The Commission is required to meet any charges e.g. interest, from any money lent by the Government, except where such charges are met from monies appropriated by Parliament. Where there is a deficiency in the funds of the Commission, such deficiency is met from monies provided by Parliament.Funds to the credit of the GGMC may be invested in securities approved by the Minister, he said. The approval of the Minister is also required for the retirement of any such securities.With the approval of the National Assembly, the Minister of Finance may guarantee the repayment of principal and interest on any authorized borrowing.According to Goolsarran, the Commission may make loans as it deems fit out of its fund and resources in the performance of its functions, and in accordance with the provisions of the Act. It may also charge interest on such loans as it deems fit. Every loan made shall be repaid in accordance with the terms and conditions of the related agreement.Former Auditor General, Anand GoolsarranThe Commission is required to maintain a Reserve Fund into which is paid such sums as the Minister may direct out of the net surpluses made each year. If the Reserve Fund does not have enough to meet the net loss in any one year, the deficiency is a charge on the Consolidated Fund. If a net surplus is made in a succeeding year, the Minister of Finance will determine what sum is to be repaid to the Consolidated Fund until the full amount is repaid, inclusive of interest.“As regards any transfer of funds to a government agency for the purpose of building a road, one has to examine whether this activity falls within the responsibility of the Commission. If so,Jerseys Wholesale, and on the assumption that the Commission does not have in-house expertise, it can request the competent government agency, for example the Ministry of Public Works, to do so on its behalf.”Not NICIL, as was being done.The Commission will provide the necessary funds via an inter-departmental warrant or equivalent, Goolsarran said.Earlier this year, Shadow Finance Minister of A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), Carl Greenidge, made it clear that the coalition is exploring options in changing legislation to ensure the system of fiscal accountability is strengthened in Guyana.APNU and the Alliance For Change (AFC), which combined, have a one-seat majority in the National Assembly, insisted that they have no problems with monies being spent to repair interior roads. Rather, it is transfer of the $254M that has them smarting.Both the government and the opposition have been battling over NICIL for awhile now. Government says that NICIL is private and therefore its revenues do not have to be deposited to the Consolidated Fund.However, the Opposition has been arguing that NICIL’s funds are state monies and therefore should fall under the oversight of the National Assembly.The $254M transfer was revealed by AFC’s leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, back in January.According to Ramjattan, the monies should rightly go to the Consolidated Fund, where all revenues for the state are controlled.“To place these monies elsewhere is a breach of financial regulations of the country. The government is fully aware of this.” |
