St Vincent and the Grenadines Opposition leader Dr Godwin Friday says the government of St Vincent headed by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves must account for 95 Million dollars in alleged government spending between 2010- 2015.
Friday said the matter raised in the Director of Audit Report for 2015 represents differences between what the Accountant General presented to the Director of Audit and what the Bank of St. Vincent and the Grenadines said was drawn down under the government’s overdraft account.
The Opposition Leader on Tuesday night said, “The Director of Audit in her report said, in the absence of bank reconciliation it could not determine what contributed to the difference.”
“Let’s take, for example, the period from 2010 to 2015 that for six years, according to the bank which was the Bank of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The overdraft amount stated for 2010 on the bank’s account was 58 million dollars; however, the Accountant General stated the overdraft amount as 44 million dollars that’s a 13 million dollar difference”.
“So the bank is saying somebody required the spending of 58 million dollars in overdraft, but the Accountant General In the report presented to the Director of Audit says only 44 million dollars is in the overdraft balance, that was in 2010”.
“In 2011, the amount was 33.7 million dollars that the bank says was spent; the director says it was 16.3 million dollars, which is 16.9 or 17 million dollars less than the bank says that somebody requisitioned to spend. More than half of the money in that year, the Accountant General could not present to the Director of Audit how that money was spent”.
“In 2012, the amount the bank said it had was 41.6 million in its overdraft account; the Accountant General said it was 31.3 million dollars for a difference of 10 million dollars”.
“In 2015, the bank says it was 51.1million dollars, but the Accountant General account says it was 34 million dollars, so there was a difference of almost 17 million dollars between what the bank says was actually spent because that was the amount that was drawn into overdraft account and what the Accountant General said in their own statements of assets and liabilities”.
“In 2014, it got even worse, the discrepancy, the difference between what the bank says was spent, what was in its account of its overdraft facility was 60.5 million dollars, and the Accountant General said it was 31 million dollars, couldn’t account for 28 million”.
“And in 2015, which is the most recent account, we see that the amount was 60 million in the banks account and 50 million according to the Accountant General, so you have a 9 million dollar discrepancy”.
Friday said that over the period from 2010 to 2015, an amount of about 95 million dollars difference between what the bank says was drawn as part of its overdraft account and what the Accountant General can present to the Director of Audit as the state of the overdraft account.
“What this means is, not only is there’s a discrepancy, but that discrepancy must be explainable, and when the Accountant General can’t explain that to the satisfaction of the Director of Audit, it leads to all sorts of questions.”
“Were there inefficiencies? Were there losses? Or worse, was there misappropriation”?
“In 2009 – 10, the Director of Audit went even further citing the discrepancy in the overdraft accounts again as stated by the Accountant General and the bank, in that year she concluded because of the significant matters described above, and the comments mention otherwise in this report, I am of the opinion that the financial statements presented for audit did not, in all material respects fairly represent the financial position of the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines”.
That report Friday said was presented in 2014.
“If the Director of Audit does not have sufficient information to make this determination, the question is who will have it, how will anybody know how the government is spending the money of the people.”
“This is a matter that needs to be examined; there needs to be a forensic audit, to determine how this money is spent, where the money went to understand how the finances of this country have been misrepresented or represented in a way that is not in accordance with the law, and certainly did not pass muster with the Director of Audit.
