KINGSTON, Jamaica, Nov 9, The Auditor General has found that while the Jamaica government had displayed good practices in the face of enormous pressure during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it failed in some areas of procurement and records management, with at least one ministry paying out hundreds of millions of dollars (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents) without a paper trail.
The Auditor General’s report, which was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, noted several anomalies in how funds allocated to deal with the pandemic were spent by the ministries of Health and Wellness (HW) and Labour and Social Security.
The government had allocated more than eight billion dollars to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security got J$1.1 billion.
Among the issues outlined by Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis was a lack of transparency in payments for COVID-19 quarantine facilities, in which J$337 million was paid to seven hotels and guesthouses for providing quarantine accommodations, but the ministry only provided evidence of a formal contract with one.
“The six service providers, without a formal contract, were paid a total of $293 million. In the absence of formal terms and conditions, MoHW was exposed to unbudgeted liability claims and varying payment arrangements in a context where one service provider unexpectedly asked MoHW to pay the facility’s electricity bill and 90 percent of water charges,” according to the Auditor General.
She said the ministry advised that as part of the Cabinet-approved managed controlled re-entry program to govern to the country’s opening of its borders, it was directed to establish arrangements with private entities such as hotels and guest houses for the mandatory quarantine of people entering the country, in an extremely short timeframe which did not allow for negotiation of formal contracts.
The Ministry of Health was also cited for failing to abide by the Financial Administration and Audit Act in the transfer of J$174 million to several agencies, with concerns raised about the mechanisms put in place to monitor and track the COVID-19 emergency spending.
The Health Ministry spent J$189.21 million for the purchase of fixed assets, which were reportedly acquired to support its COVID-19 response efforts.
The Auditor General found that the sum included $23 million worth of assets not included in its inventory and $2 million spent on television sets and tablets, for which there was no indication of how they related to the ministry’s COVID-19 response initiatives.
The review found that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s database provided no assurance that only eligible persons got humanitarian assistance, nor were there records to ensure proper accountability and transparency in the receipt and distribution of items.
The audit was conducted between May 2020 and June 2022 following the allocations to the two ministries to aid in the country’s COVID-19 emergency response interventions.
The Auditor General recommended that accounting officers make a greater effort to ensure basic controls over emergency spending are adhered to, considering that emergency procurements are more susceptible to misuse and corruption.
She said the MLSS, as one of the country’s leading social protection agencies, should develop, implement and maintain a reliable Beneficiary Management Information System capable of providing accurate information on the status and whereabouts of vulnerable individuals eligible to receive social support.
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