Audits are guides for corrective action – President

The forensic audits commissioned into various state entities are guides for corrective action and preventing recurrences, according to President David Granger.

Granger at the time was responding to questions on the objectives behind conducting forensic audits during a recording of “The Public Interest” last Friday.

“They are guides for corrective action to ensure that there is no reoccurrence and to ensure that in cases where there is culpability, unlawful behaviour that persons could be brought before the court and if they are found guilty of having committed offences they could be punished,” he said.

He noted that government is not ignoring reports. He said that some of them “may not be sufficiently grave to bring the house down.”

Last December information provided to the National Assembly by Finance Minister Winston Jordan showed that the Government of Guyana had spent in excess of $133 million on the forensic audits since it took office month in May last year.

Jordan was answering written questions posed by PPP/C Parliamentarian Juan Edghill.

Asked to say exactly how much money was spent as well as the auditors contracted to carry out the audits, the government revealed that a total of $133,045,900 was spent on the 45 audits financed by the Government of Guyana.

According to the minster’s answer, accounting firms Ram and McRae Chartered Accountants, Nigel Hinds Financial Services and Dr Anand Goolsarran received several of the auditing contracts valued $40,250,000, $25 million and over $7 million respectively.