There was approximately $60 million in unspent funds lying in special accounts across municipalities at the end of 2016, and a significant portion of that money is still unspent, according to Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Communities Emile McGarrell, who said it was determined that the money did not have to be returned to the Consolidated Fund.
McGarrell’s revelation on Monday exposed weaknesses in the accounting structure between central government and the local democratic organs, and saw him at odds with Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Irfaan Ali on how unspent monies are to be treated at the end of the fiscal year.
In 2016, the government had paid out $401 million in Capital Subventions to Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils. At the end of that year, all the funds were not spent, but the PAC heard at a hearing at the Parliament Chamber on Monday that a number of municipalities still retain those sums in their accounts.
The amounts
