By Lynford Simpson, Staff Reporter AUDLEY SHAW, Chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), has lashed out at senior public sector workers who continue to breach policy guidelines, often to the detriment of the taxpaying public.
His warning came at yesterday's sitting of the PAC where the accounts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade were examined.
Mr. Shaw's comments came after Auditor-General Adrian Strachan had raised concerns about the overpayment of $246,396 to 11 officers attached to the ministry.
According to Mr. Strachan, the overpayments took place because of "inadequate internal checks and non-compliance with financial guidelines". He also noted that the officers had gone on leave but this was not recorded.
Of the amount, $152,694 was recovered. There is uncertainty as to whether the balance of $93,701 will be recovered as some of the people were no longer employed to the Ministry.
At this revelation, Mr. Shaw said: "I think that generally, looseness and slackness exists (in Government accounting). We can't continue to tolerate it."
He told Ambassador Douglas Saunders, Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Ministry, to get word out to financial officers in the various ministries and departments that a surcharge will be applied where they are unable to account for public funds.
Said Shaw: "I want it to be imposed, because the sooner our public officers who are accountable officers find out that it is going to hurt them in the pocket, maybe everybody will get serious about getting the information on time."
The Auditor-General has said he will be pursuing the matter with a view to imposing surcharges on the responsible officers who failed to ensure proper accounting procedures were followed.
"What the A-G is saying, and which I confirm, is that what is put there as an overpayment is a mere nomenclature, an improper payment," Shaw charged.
He added that if it is improper, "it follows that the responsible accounting officer must account for the lost funds and should pay the surcharge".
Speaking with The Gleaner after the PAC meeting, Mr. Shaw said "we have to begin to make examples of people in the hope that this will cause a greater respect for following the rule across the board in all government agencies and ministries".
He added that "I'm suggesting that they will not respect it until they start feeling it in their pockets."
Meanwhile, Ambassador Saunders was at pains to point out why the Ministry was, in some instances, way behind in its accounting records. He blamed this squarely on the retrenchment exercise of two years ago which saw some positions being terminated and some overseas missions significantly scaled down. This followed the recommendations contained in the Orane Report which had called for the closure of six missions as a cost-saving measure.
Yesterday, the Auditor-General had pointed to delays of up to 20 months before monthly financial statements were submitted by some missions.
