…Accounting Officer assures that Fleet Management, Tracking Systems now in place
By Svetlana Marshall
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) came ‘under fire’ when it appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday over failing to submit its 2016 logbooks for 32 vehicles to the Audit Office of Guyana for scrutiny in 2016.
The Force’s Accounting Officer, Commander Vernon Burnett, who led the team that appeared before the high-level parliamentary committee in the Public Buildings, while acknowledging that there were significant “lapses,” said that a Fleet Management System and a Tracking System have since been implemented to prevent a reoccurrence.
At the time, the PAC was reviewing the Auditor General’s 2016 report. In doing so, Government Member of Parliament (MP) and Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill enquired from Commander Burnett whether the GDF had developed a practice of having no logbooks for its fleet of vehicles.
“There was a lapse” in the system, the Commander said in response while indicating that of the 32 vehicles for which logbooks were not provided, five vehicles were engaged in sensitive operations.
“It is a practice for us to provide logbooks for vehicles, generators, vessels, particularly to monitor the movements of the engines and use of fuel. I acknowledge that there was a lapse [but] I want to also indicate that there were some logbooks that we did not provide for scrutiny, those logbooks were for vehicles in the military investigation department, the Chief-of-Staff vehicle and the G-2 Branch, the intelligence Corps vehicles, and the reason for that is because those vehicles, aside from the Chief-of-Staff, those vehicles are usually involved in very sensitive operations,” Commander Burnett explained.
But MP Edghill reminded the GDF that the Auditor General Deodat Sharma bears same privilege as the Chancellor of the Judiciary and the Chief Justice of Guyana. He said special arrangements could have been put in place for the sensitive documents to be handed over to the senior management of the Audit Office but emphasized that the logbooks should have been submitted for scrutiny.
“The purpose of a logbook is not just for destinations, but it is also to verify consumption of fuel, wear and tear and issuance of spares, and all other expenditure associated with that vehicle. So, how are we to be assured that vehicles that received substantial cost in terms of fuel allocation, spares and tyres, how could we be assured that it went to those vehicles,” Minister Edghill reasoned.
Further, the GDF was reminded that regardless of the sensitive operations it may have been involved in, it is not exempted from submitting documents such as logbooks to the Audit Office based on Stores Regulation Six of 1993, Section 29.
Commander Burnett assured the PAC, that over the past two years, fresh systems were instituted to effectively management the Force’s fleet of vehicles.
“We have established files for each vehicle in the GDF, owned by the GDF, that file is updated with the history, everything that is done on those vehicles, and those files are now available for scrutiny by the external auditors. We have instituted a Fleet Management System that tracks everything that is done with regards to our fleet, and we have since implemented also a tracking system for all of our vehicles, that can tie everything back to the logbook and fleet management system,” Commander Burnett explained.
Government’s Chief Whip Gail Teixeira cautioned the GDF that should it require exemption for vehicles involved in sensitive operations, there would be need for legislative changes, and as such, representation should be made to the National Security Committee or the National Defence Board, and once approved they would be taken to Cabinet for the Attorney General to make the proposed legislative changes for submission to the National Assembly.
