Auditor General raises questions over THA covid19 relief measures

AN Auditor General’s report on the country’s public accounts has unearthed discrepancies in several THA divisions with respect to the disbursement of covid19 relief items including food vouchers and hampers.

The report, now a public document, covered the period October 2019 to September 2020. It highlighted discrepancies surrounding the THA's handling of State-funded covid19 food hampers valued $658,430 and $7.8 million worth of food cards, also provided by the State. The collective value of the food hampers and food cards under query is $8,524,430.

According to the report, the THA's Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development received covid19 food hampers and vouchers totalling $658,430. This division's secretary is PNM Tobago political leader Tracy Davidson-Celestine.

The report said that division’s procedures for distribution of these vouchers were not adhered to in that the vouchers were given to individuals who did not complete the requisite documentation on the ‘Client Intake’ form.

In addition, the report said distribution of food vouchers by this division's secretary’s office was done without the interview from the senior social support officers.

“As a result of the foregoing, the quantity of food vouchers distributed could not be accurately determined,” the report stated.

The report said it also was not ascertained whether the food vouchers – paid for by taxpayers – reached the intended recipients i.e people who suffered a negative impact as a result of the pandemic.

Regarding the emergency rental assistance programme, the report cited weaknesses in internal controls, which were observed from an examination of the accounting documents.

For example, payment vouchers were not initialled in the “Funds Available,” or “Authorised for Payment,” columns.

Details relating to the period or month of the payment were not indicated on the department voucher or the files examined, the report noted.

It also found that the criteria for rental assistance were not followed on two applicants selected for sampling as neither “The letter from the employer,” nor “The Declaration of Truth,” were seen. Numerous efforts by Tobago Newsday to reach Davidson-Celestine at the time this story was being written, proved futile.

The auditor general’s department also noted discrepancies with respect to covid19 food card releases, which were managed by the Division of Finance and the Economy. The secretary for this division is Joel Jack.

It said at the onset of the pandemic, an executive council minute, dated March 25, 2020, authorised the purchase of 15,000 food cards for the Emergency Social Assistance Cards Programme (ESACP) at a total cost of $7,866,000, to augment the existing programme.

The report noted weaknesses in the internal control system for payments based on an examination of accounting documents.

Key areas which signified that the controls were in place such as ‘Checked By,’ ‘Funds Available’ and, ‘Authorised for Payment,’ on the payment vouchers were not completed and dated.

There also was no evidence of an internal audit examination on the vote books, schedule of accounts, subsidiary ledger cards and payment vouchers.

With respect to the administration of the cards, the report found that segregation of duties was not evident in the Emergency Social Assistance Cards Unit, as both officers who operated the unit were collectively responsible for the interviewing of applicants, including site visits, evaluation and recommendations; collection of cards from the bank; distribution of cards; maintenance of the cards register; and custody of the cards.

The report said a sample for the processing of applications for food cards was undertaken and it was found that procedures were not followed.

It said applicants were required to present a form of identification in order to collect a food card.

However, it was observed that cards were, “regularly collected by an individual attached to the assembly. In these instances, the identification card number, address and telephone numbers of card recipients were not inserted in the Card Issuance Register.”

The report said interviews and assessments by officers assigned to the ESACP unit were not done for applications submitted by secretaries.

In May, when the locdown was initiated, Government announced that $25 million was being set aside for Tobago to help its people ride out the lockdown period which culminated in a state of emergency being called and a curfew initiatied. Up until news time, efforts to also reach Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis via WhatsApp about the findings of the report, were futile.

Asked about it on Saturday the Prime Minsiter said he was unaware of it and therefore could not comment.