Chairman of the Audit Commis-sion, Leighton McKnight, has threatened sanctions against
government ministries and executive agencies that are flouting the law by their tardiness in establishing audit committees, which have been given the mandate to minimise waste and eliminate corruption in the public sector.
Mr. McKnight, while commending 23 committees for achieving some level of success since April 2005, castigated four government bodies, which have missed the April 2006 deadline for establishment.
The Audit Commission chairman, who has oversight responsibility for the committees, said he would be writing the Cabinet Secretary to inform him about the agencies that are not functional. Asked to name the agencies, Mr. McKnight said he would not disclose the information at this time.
He indicated, however, that those public sector bodies that are lagging behind are the ones that usually found themselves shrouded in controversy.
"Those that give good reports and are functioning properly, I don't hear too much negatives about them (in the media) - they have a good audit committee with a no-nonsense chairman, people toe the line," he argued.
Audit committees have a direct link to the Auditor General and the Audit Commission and can submit matters of concern for an investigation.
Power to summon
According to Mr. McKnight, the committees also have the authority to summon employees of state agencies, including management, to appear before them to answer questions relating to the entity.
In 1998, Chief Executive Officer of GraceKennedy Ltd., Douglas Orane, was asked to conduct a study into the operations of Government and to make recommendations on how it could reduce waste and increase efficiency.
As part of his findings, Orane reported that large savings could be realised if Government tighten spending in a number of areas, including domestic and overseas travelling, rental and space utilisation in ministries and departments, method of purchase of petrol and other supplies, engagement of consultants in the public sector among other proposals.
