APNU+AFC hired 119 persons without justification – Guyana Chronicle

-cost was $19M over budget, PAC hears

UNDER the APNU+AFC government, the Ministry of Social Protection (now Ministry of Human Services and Social Security) hired 119 temporary employees without proper justification, resulting in a $19 million increase in spending.

On Monday, the spending of the ministry under the leadership of former minister, Amna Ally, came into focus at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting.

Speaking as members of the PAC, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira raised serious concerns over the ministry’s employment costs.

The Auditor General’s 2019 report shows that $1.1 billion was budgeted for ‘Employment Costs’ for 707 persons during the period under review.

However, an examination of the ministry’s Appropriation Accounts revealed that $1.082 billion was expended for 826 persons. This represents 119 staff more than the budgeted 707 and $19M under the budgeted expenditure.

As such, it would appear that the employment costs were overbudgeted.

The Head of the Budget Agency indicated that although persons were employed in 2019, those employed in the latter part of the year were not paid until 2020 and the funds for this were provided by the Ministry of Finance.

During the hearing, Minister Edghill grilled the now sitting Permanent Secretary (PS) Shannielle E. Hoosein-Outar over the temporary staffing arrangement. However, Hoosein-Outar indicated that former PS, Lorraine Baird, would be able to answer key questions about that period.

“I was hoping the former PS would have been here. I reached out to her and she indicated that she was not able to meet with me, nor to be here,” Hoosein-Outar said. No excuse was provided by Baird for her absence at the PAC meeting.

Minister Edghill asked for the record of temporary persons who were hired and their roles and responsibilities. However, this information was not available, and the PS indicated that she would hand it over within two weeks.

Meanwhile, APNU PAC member Ganesh Mahipaul asked Hoosein-Outar if the employment for the temporary staff passed through the Public Service Commission (PSC). However, the PS was unable to provide an answer.

Minister Teixeira expressed difficulty in comprehending how a ministry could have 119 more staff members than it had budgeted for.

“I just find it difficult to comprehend how a ministry could have 119 members of staff more than what we budgeted for, yet, under budgeted the amount by $19M. This is very weird. It meant that the ministry probably inflated the cost for the budget, but that doesn’t explain why people weren’t paid until 2020. Because if it is so, what’s written in the Auditor General’s report is that 119 more staff were hired than what was budgeted. But they were under the budgeted amount by $19 million, therefore, why weren’t they paid,” Teixeira said.

She further probed if approval was granted by the PSC and its relevant ministry.

“I agree with my colleagues in the PAC that there must be records in the ministry… Even if you don’t have paper records in personnel, which you should have, there would have been payroll records to show what these people were paid and what they were doing.

“It’s not a small amount. It’s not one or two people. It is 119 people [and] that is bizarre. Someone has to explain how people were even paid in 2020 if they weren’t on the payroll in the first place, they weren’t budgeted for,” Minister Teixeira stressed.

Minister Edghill explained that the response that some of these people were paid in 2020 is very “worrying.”

“…it would appear more money than was required for employment costs was budgeted. Because that’s the only way you could pay for the 707 and still have money left back. Besides paying the 707, you employed 119 more and paid them, but you also received additional sums, and you still get $19 million to send back. So, something is not operating correctly accounting-wise, and that is why I’m very concerned the former PS is not here to guide us,” he said.

PAC Chairman Jermaine Figueira adjourned the issue until March 17 and asked that the former PS be present.

“When I reached out to her, she said that she was on vacation, and I asked if we can do a Zoom meeting to discuss the queries, but she said she was unavailable,” Hoosein-Outar explained.

Figueira said that the PAC would assist in getting Baird to appear before the commission, whether it be virtually or physically.