SARA working with regions to ensure responsible spending

Aubrey Heath-Retemyer

As part of its ongoing anti-corruption campaign, the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) is working along with regional administrations to ensure that budgetary funds are properly spent and accounted for, according to its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Major (retd) Aubrey Heath-Retemyer.

“We are not running the regions, we’re just there to point out that, ‘Look, things have gone in this direction, sometimes overpayment, for example, and, therefore, it means that somebody is being paid for work that isn’t done.’ It’s either the region step up and try to get the contractor to finish the job or to ensure that he or she returns the money,” Heath-Retemyer told Stabroek News during an interview on Wednesday.

While stressing that the agency does not aim to be intrusive, he said that it is working closely with the regions, which have been cooperating.