Dear Editor,
As a newly-elected Councillor, I am publicly calling on all Councillors, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to begin discussions on conducting a forensic audit of the Municipality of Georgetown at our first statutory meeting on 11th April, 2016.
The Local Government Elections are over and the Mayor and Councillors have been sworn in for Georgetown so it is time to get down to the serious business of efficiently managing the City’s affairs.
Above all other matters, the need for a full-scale forensic audit is paramount and it must be initiated immediately to cover all areas of operation of the Municipality of Georgetown. This forensic audit, by necessity, must be performed by an independent and competent external auditor with specific terms of reference to discover the previous modes of operation and the utilisation of the City’s resources. Once the results are reviewed by the Council, we will be in much better position to chart the course for the revitalisation of Georgetown.
Many citizens have expressed grave concern about transparency and accountability at City Hall especially with the election of past members of the City Council including the Mayor-elect and Chairman of the Finance Committee and some of its members who have been part of the administration at City Hall for many years.
No one should really object to an external forensic audit if there is nothing to hide especially since everyone seems interested in seeing a revitalised Georgetown.
A forensic audit is of vital importance to rebuild public trust and confidence in the competence, operation and overall performance of all areas of city governance. I, along with many of the candidates, had made this call during the campaign leading up to the Local Government Elections. Residents, stakeholders and other interested parties have been calling for an independent audit to be conducted at City Hall for some time now and there are tremendous benefits to be gained from such an undertaking by the newly elected Councillors and Mayor of Georgetown.
The APNU+AFC coalition had taken the same path on its assumption of power to determine how the State’s resources were used. In principle, City Hall must follow the same measures so that the Councillors and Mayor can implement new systems of control in all areas which will result in the provision of a much higher level of accountability, transparency and competency.
A forensic audit will discover any misappropriation of the City’s assets, any corruption schemes involving people working for the City and any fraudulent financial statements.
Additionally, a forensic audit will allow us to know precisely what assets are owned by the City, all outstanding debts/receivables and liabilities, the human resources disposition and the current financial status of Georgetown.
The results of such a forensic audit must be made available to the public for scrutiny and comment.
I would also like to see an ethics review which will allow us to determine what acceptable behaviour is for everyone associated with the administration of the Municipality of Georgetown and to prevent unethical actions and conflict of interest situations.
As a new Councillor in the City of Georgetown, I am particularly interested in the control systems used, the human resources component, departmental financial allocations and the use or misuse of the public money. We owe it to the people of Georgetown to account for every cent of their money spent.
Every effort should be made to bring the Municipality of Georgetown in compliance with the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act and to operate in a transparent manner.
Yours faithfully,
Bishram Kuppen
Councillor – PPP/C
Municipality of Georgetown
