… Foreign Affairs Ministry seeking to write sum off
By Lisa Hamilton
On Monday, as part of the examination of the Auditor General’s (AGs) 2016 report, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) examined the possibility of recovering monies owed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOF) by the late Ambassador Dr. Mohammed Ali Odeen Ishmael.
The Guyanese veteran and diplomat died in January 2019 in the United States (U.S.) at the age of 70 leaving behind some GYD $11.549M in 26 outstanding advances. The advances have since been reduced to 10, amounting to US $14,301.
However, Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elizabeth Harper revealed that the Finance Secretary has been asked to write-off the sum because recovering it has thus far proven futile.
“It’s an exercise that we have really exhausted because we have tried all the avenues to get the receipts and it’s not that the person did not travel, because we have reports of the meetings that they attended, so in every instance there was travel that was authorized by Cabinet [but the accounting is not available],” she explained.
However, Minister of Public Works and PAC Member Juan Edghill put forward that the funds could still be acquired although Ishmael has passed.
“If someone is deceased, your estate is still available, especially if that person was on a pensionable establishment. There is a way that could be recovered without writing it off and I think advice from the Accountant General’s Office [is necessary] because both the GRA would have to provide a statement that you’re free from indebtedness in terms of taxation. So, before you go to writing off, there is a way to recover monies owed by a public officer even after their demise,” he suggested.
On the contrary, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance and PAC Member, Gail Teixeira said that it may be unfair now to request such funds years later when exchange rates have changed. She agreed with the Ministry that the only choice may to be write-off the sum.
PAC Chair, David Patterson questioned whether a new system is in place to prevent such a reoccurrence. Harper responded in the affirmative. She said that it has now been established that, upon return, all relevant receipts much be submitted within 7 days. A sanction now applies that if such is not cleared, the amount outstanding is withdrawn from the individual’s salary.
Apart from the outstanding advances, the PAC also discussed employment contracts, utility charges and other paragraphs highlighted with the AG’s 2016 report on the Ministry.
It was discussed that contracts were not entered into with 115 local-based employees for 2015 and 2016. Present in the Parliament Chambers to respond to the concerns was also former PS of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Audrey Waddell.
Waddell explained that the contracts were being reviewed because it was found that several clauses were ambiguous. In fact, it was noted that one staff took the Government to court based on the contract. The Foreign Affairs Ministry, therefore, felt that certain clauses needed to be clearer.
They set out to revise the contracts and, during the period of no contracts, the staff were given letters of appointment which clearly stated the terms of their employment in keeping with labour laws. The new contract was set on improving the benefit of staff such as an end of tenure benefit. When the contracts were reviewed and there were no overpayments.
It was also highlighted that there was a breach of Section 43 of the Financial Management and Accountability (FMA) Act regarding refunding for unspent balances. Approximately G$220M was paid over late to the Consolidated Fund by 16 Missions. The Ministry informed the PAC that most Missions now have home-based accounting staff to assist in curbing the situation but the breaches nonetheless continued into 2019.
PAC Member, Ganesh Mahipaul also questioned the fact that logbooks were not presented for 9 of 15 serviceable vehicles. The 6 log books presented were not properly written up. Historical records for vehicles were not maintained as prescribed.
Harper explained that, though this did not suffice the PAC, that the logbooks were not written up in the manner that they should have been at the time lending to them not being presented. The issue has since been resolved.
There was also the issue of CAD$1,286.50 paid for television and internet services by the Canadian High Commission, Ottawa, for two home-based staff, even though the terms and conditions of their services did not provide for these benefits.
It was revealed that some persons, especially those with family, were allowed to make their own choosing for rental which resulted in additional utility charges. This issue has since been resolved and the sum cleared.
“To me, it’s totally unacceptable if the persons aren’t entitled to these services,” Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira said, recommended that the contracts for the needed services be amended to ensure that the basic utilities are catered for.
