The Guyana Police Force (GPF) yesterday said it could account for $90M allocated to the police during the general elections last November, stating that the monies received were allocated to feed ranks and for policing activities.
“There was nothing sinister in the handling of the monies as alluded to by the media,” GPF Public Relations and Press Officer Ivelaw Whittaker said in a release yesterday, while noting that the actual sum allotted to the police for elections duties was $51,008,000 and not the total $90,649,200.
The release was issued to “set the records straight” on recent publications in the print media concerning an alleged “missing $90M” allocated to the force during the last elections “and which have resulted from unofficial, unauthorized and misleading statements from a Police Divisional Commander….”
He noted that during 2011, the GPF prepared a budget of proposed activities for the elections, which was submitted to the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Home Affairs. Subsequently, supplementary provisions were received during November 2011 in the sum of $90,649,200. Of this amount, Whittaker noted, $39,641,200 were for the shortfall on voted provisions and $51,008,000 were received under the line item 6261 – Local Travelling and Subsistence – which also caters for the feeding of police ranks during the inline period for elections.
Whittaker clarified that the sum allotted to the police for elections duties was $51,008,000 and not the total $90,649,200.
Accounting for the allocations, he noted that $8M was to facilitate the cost of travelling expenses and the remaining $43,008,000 was brought to account by the police. A total sum of $32,491,822 was drawn out to Police Divisions, Police Headquarters and Special Constabulary Headquarters to meet expenditure for the feeding of ranks.
Police Divisions, Police Headquarters and the Special Constabulary Headquarters were allocated cash and commodities from the Police Consumers’ Cooperative Society Ltd and other outlets for the feeding of ranks, Whittaker added.
He explained that Police Headquarters comprises all the Branches of the Force such as the Tactical Services Unit, CID Headquarters, the Felix Austin Police College, Immigration, Commissioner’s Office, General Office, Finance Office, the Police Band, Quartermaster Stores, etc, but the Tactical Services Unit received a separate allocation for the elections period.
The release gave the following breakdown of how the monies were allocated:
Police Headquarters – $9,500,251;
“A” Division – $8,526,676;
“B” Division – $3,459,851;
“C” Division – $2,299,465;
“D” Division – $1,199,037;
“E&F” Division – $1,696,888;
“G” Division – $1,136,623;
TSU – $4,176,144; and
Special Constabulary- $496,887
The remaining sum of $10,516,178 is still in the force’s accounting system, Whittaker added.
