Real-time audits being done, contract overpayments recovered

Auditor General Deodat Sharma on Thursday handed over two key reports to Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, reaffirming his office’s commitment to timely and robust oversight of public finances.

The Auditor General’s 2024 report, which reviews the Public Accounts of Guyana and the accounts of ministries, departments, and regions, achieved its statutory submission deadline for the fourth time before September 30.

A special performance audit examining asset management at the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) for the period January 2021 to June 2024 was also handed over. Both reports will be laid before the National Assembly, after which they become public documents.

Among the recurring challenges highlighted in the Auditor General’s 2024 report, was the issue of contract overpayments, an area that continues to surface despite improvements in financial management across government agencies. Controversial projects like the Bamia Primary School in Region Ten and the Belle Vue Pump Station in Region Three were among numerous projects audited in the report, according to the AG.

Sharma, in his remarks, said the Works and Structures Department of his office was involved in training to understand public procurement along with common procurement fraud schemes and other areas of contract management.

As a result, overpayments paid to contractors were recovered.

“The contractors do not dispute the Audit Office, in terms of our findings, we have been finding with the engineering departments overpayments, there are still there, and that is an area we would have to try to improve in,” Sharma said.

To further address this issue, real-time audits are now being conducted on major projects, moving away from “post-mortem” reviews.

Despite recurring issues, Sharma spoke about improvements in areas such as fuel and logbook management, where most ministries are now fully compliant.

As Guyana’s oil and gas sector expands, the Audit Office is building new capacity to strengthen oversight. Officers have received specialised training in crude oil marketing, sovereign hedging programmes, and environmental auditing. Through a Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation (CAAF) workshop, Guyana joined the global Working Group on Audit of Extractive Industries (WEGI), allowing officers to share expertise with peers from Uganda, Rwanda, and Indonesia.

Sharma also said the Audit Office has also been advancing its use of technology in government audits. Artificial Intelligence (AI), he noted, can play a crucial role in identifying fraud.

“The Audit Office of Guyana has been partnering with the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) to ensure all relevant security and data management protocols are being utilised by Officers of the Agency in an effort to prevent cybercrimes and ensure sensitive data is protected. To this end, thirty Officers were trained in safeguarding data and security protocols which must be observed at all times,” Sharma said.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, praised the Auditor General’s office for its consistency in producing timely reports and tackling complex audits. He commended the monumental task of balancing accountability with the rapid expansion of Guyana’s economy, particularly in cybercrime and AI.