The audit process needs auditing

ThePresidentofGuyana shouldbepetitionedtoorder an immediate inquiry into his government’s response (or lack of) into the audit of theoilexpensesincurredand claimedbytheoilcompanies for the period 1999 to 2017.

The government has a politicalresponsibilitytothe parliament to ensure the proper management of the oil sector and parliament shouldatleastpassamotion urgingsuchaninquiry

It was Stabroek News which landed the scoop of the year when it reported on details of that audit, details which the government did notseefittomakeknownto thepublicortoactupon.The excuses which have since been made by the government, including tryingtoinvolvetheGuyana Revenue Authority, are grounds enough to justify a commissionofinquiry

Since2021,itwasbeing reported that the report into theauditfortheperiod1999 to 2017 had been submitted to the government

Questions were asked as to whythegovernmentwasnot reporting on the findings of the audit. The public was provided with reassurances thatareportwouldhavebeen forthcoming. But up until a fewdaysago,therewaslittle responseonthematter

Then there emerged the bombshell report by the Stabroek News indicating that the audit report, in the possession of the government, had raised red flags about some 12.8% or some US$214.4M of the US$1 67 B in expenses claimedbyExxonMobiland its affiliates. It was this release which prompted a response from the government.

It sought to involve the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). But the GRA has limited locus standi on this issue The GRA is and cannot be held responsible for the audit of the oil expenses. The government, andparticularlytheMinistry of Natural Resources, is responsible for ensuring the audit and for the follow-up actionifnecessary

The Guyana Revenue Authority is a tax collection agency It may undertake its own audit in order to assess taxesowed.Butitcannotand shouldnotberesponsiblefor anyauditbythegovernment of oil expenses. Whatever the GRA does is of mere academic value since the company is not subject to muchtaxationanyway

Yetdespiteknowingthis, the Vice President indicated that the GRAwould address theissue.Itdid.ButtheGRA should extricate itself from this issue, lest it finds itself h a v i n g t o a s s u m e responsibility for any negligenceonthepartofthe Ministry of Natural Resources. As things now stand,thepublicisbeingtold that the audit report which was submitted to the governmenttwoyearsagoisa preliminary report The

Dem boys seh...

government it is said is awaitingthefinalreportfrom the audit company before taking action to recover nay amountswrongfullyclaimed

Presumably, the audit company is required to submit the findings to the oil companies who will then provide the relevant explanations It is doubtful that this process should take two years The final audit report should have already beenready Assuchquestions need to be asked as to what action the government has taken to ensure that the final reportissubmittedsothatthe necessary claims and objectionscanbemadebythe government, thereby recovering more money for profitoil.

So far, the government has been mum on what action it took to ensure the submission of the final report. But other questions also need to be asked in termsofthestatutoryperiod for completing the final report and for submitting objectionstotheexpenses.

Even though the audit covered the period prior to thesigningoftheProduction SharingAgreement(PSA),it is possible that the same audit terms of the PSA covers that earlier period. After all, did the Coalition governmentnotindicatethat thepre-PSAcontractandthe PSA were not much materially different? The existing PSA provides that thegovernment,nottheaudit company, has to submit a

If yuh good enough, yuh gan get spot

Back in de old days, de country did short of good athletes and so somebody hadanideadatdemshould look in de prison fuh good athletes.

Dem send out a talent scouttoaprisonwhichwas surrounded by a high wall.

De scout tell de prisoners dem looking fuh people who could represent de countryinhighjumping.

Defussprisonertellde scout how he can jump 3 feet high. De scout tell de wardenfuhincreasedeman rationsthreetimesandkeep him healthy De second prisoner tell de scout how he can jump four feet high.

Descouttelldewardenfuh increase de man rations four times and keep him healthy De third prisoner tell de scout how he can jump eight feet high. De scout tell de warden fuh lock up de third prisoner because he can jump over deprisonwalls.

Dem Guyana athletes nah jumping off nothing as yet, but de Golden

Arrowhead flying high in deBahamas.

Nuff people happy dat Guyana copping medals at the CARIFTA Games. But nuff people asking what plans are in store to ensure dattheseyoungathletescan transition to de Big League?Itisonethingtodo well at the de junior level a n d a t r e g i o n a l championships But is another thing to use that talent and ability to reach world class standards

Making that leap requires carefulplanning,andsound report to the oil companies within sixty days of the completionoftheaudit.The oil companies then have anothersixtydaystorespond totheauditqueries. The key question that arises therefore is whether theseprovisionsapplytothe pre-PSA contract and specifically to the period 1999-2017. And if it does then what action did the government take to ensure compliance with the sixty days period for submission of queries and for receipt of the oil companies’ explanation. These are the issues which require an explanation from the government. But given its historic secrecy and reversion to confidentiality clauses, real or imagined, it is not likely that the PPPC government will answer those questions unless it is mandated to do so by a commissionofinquiry

Therehavebeencallsfor the government to release the audit report. But these calls are misplaced because you cannot make public a preliminary report That would be just as reckless as not taking sufficient and sustained action to have the finalreportsubmitted.

But the demand for the report to be made public must be understood in context of the government’s previous failure to have some US$9.5B in expenses audited within the statutory period At the time, the explanation was that it was difficulttofindpersonstodo theauditing. management of our athletes. And some people already asking how dese young people gan develop if dem stay in Guyana. Dem pointing to Jamaica wah does produce world and olympic champions by de quarter dozens every four years. Many of dem does go and train on the collegiate and university circuitsindeUnitedStates.

The key question this time is what prevented or is preventingthecompletionof thefinalauditreportintothe period 1999-2017 And, more importantly, what action the government took to ensure that this report is completed.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author They do not purport to reflect the opinions or viewsofKaieteurNews.

But Guyana nah gat to worry.Ifyuhgoodenough, yuhganmekit.Ifyuhgood enough, dem talent scouts fuh dem universities gan spot yuh So what is importantisdatwedevelop we local athletes locally and den hope dat dem get spot by dem foreign countrieswheretheycanbe exposedtobettertraining. Talkhalf.Leffhalf.