Acting Auditor General Deodat Sharma in his 2007 report has raised concerns about 21 contracts that were awarded for the construction of Amerindian Village Offices without proper adherence to Tender Board procedures.

In his report, the Auditor General noted that “there was no evidence to indicate adherence to Tender Board Procedures” even as $21 million was expended. Some of the money was used to construct Amerindian Village Offices at Crash Water, Toka, Surama, Karasabai and other locations, under the Amerindian Development Fund.

In response, the Head of the Budget Agency within the Amerindian Ministry explained that “the Village Councils were each given grants of $1 million to construct the offices and this was done in adherence to the Procurement Act, utilizing the community participation method.”

The Auditor General, however, stated that the requisite evidence was not presented.