[UPDATED] Chief Secretary defends THA: ‘Timely relief is not corruption’

Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis has strongly rejected accusations of corruption being levelled against the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) in the wake of an auditor general’s report which unearthed discrepancies in its handling of state-funded covid19 relief initiatives.

The report, which was released last week and is now a public document, covered the period October 2019 to September 2020.

It said there were irregularities in several THA divisions with respect to the disbursement of covid19 relief, including food vouchers, hampers and rental assistance.

In its report, the auditor general’s department said the Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development received covid19 food hampers and vouchers totalling $658, 430.

But it noted concerns with respect to food card releases, managed by the Division of Finance and the Economy.

The report said at the start 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 at a total cost of $7,866,000, to augment the existing programme.

But it questioned whether the food cards were reaching those most in need, owing to incomplete documentation in some instances.

Progressive Democratic Patriots deputy political leader Farley Augustine on Monday called for the discrepancies to be thoroughly investigated.

In a statement on Monday night, Dennis sought to clear the air on some of the issues raised in the report.

“It is unfortunate that some individuals are bent on accusing this administration of malfeasance in public office without even taking the time to ascertain the facts,” he said.

With respect to the food vouchers and hampers, Dennis said there were instances in which the Client Intake Form could not be facilitated and completed by an applicant, as some of those people were under home quarantine or isolated owing to the risk of spreading covid19.

Additionally, he said the Division of Health accounted for all hampers and food vouchers distributed within the covid19 period in question.

“The number in the time frame of the audit was 1,197 individual assistance at a value of $658,410, where 797 food vouchers and 400 food hampers were given out.”

Dennis said all records are lodged in the division.

Saying the division’s policy is very clear, Dennis said the application forms go through a verification procedure, resulting in the distribution of a voucher ranging from $500 to $800 and no applicant is required to be interviewed by a senior social worker.

Dennis: Not the time for ‘unnecessary bureaucracy’

Dennis said the negative impact of the pandemic expedited the need for the THA to act “readily and quickly” to assist individuals and families who are experiencing financial struggles.

“Now is not the time to frustrate our people with unnecessary bureaucracy and I am not in agreement with subjecting persons to any interview process to obtain a $500 hamper or voucher.”

He added: “These individuals are already in distress and our priority is to quickly bring relief as we try to support them through this period. The wait time is already too long for these applicants and we will continue to streamline these processes while still minimising opportunities for persons to finesse the system.”

Dennis said the Division of Health would continue to review the processes to ensure that the weaknesses identified are remedied.

In the report, the auditor general also said there was no segregation of duties in the Emergency Social Assistance Cards Unit as both officers who operated the unit were collectively responsible for interviewing of applicants, including site visits, evaluation and recommendations, collection of cards from the bank and the distribution of cards.

In response, Dennis said the original structure of the unit consisted of a manager/programme co-ordinator and two employees.

He said the manager passed away and the position is currently vacant.

Dennis said owing to the significant increase in applications as a result of the pandemic, officers of the Emergency Social Assistance Cards Unit assumed similar responsibilities, in an effort to ensure the timely and efficient processing and distribution of food cards to people in need.

“Notwithstanding this, efforts will be made to complement the existing personnel in the unit and allow for greater segregation of duties.”

Dennis, in his statement, said the Office of the Chief Secretary is mindful of the imperative need for training of the THA’s management and staff, “in an effort to mitigate against some of the repeated procedural and accounting errors that have surfaced in this report and previous ones.

He said while there are areas for improvement, “I saw nothing in this report which suggests illegal or corrupt activity.

“All we have set out to do is to bring relief to all affected persons in Tobago in a timely manner.”

Dennis said while there are those, who, for political expediency, will suggest otherwise, “I will say more on this in the coming days.”

He said plans are in train to begin a rigorous training programme for the staff of the THA and implementation of suitable structures so as to enable access to these training sessions by the relevant staff.

Dennis was expected to meet with all administrators on Tuesday. It was to be followed by a meeting with the Deputy Chief Secretary, Chief Administrator and the Auditor General and her team to further discuss the findings of this latest report.

Augustine: Chief Sec’s response is ‘pure rubbish’

In a Monday night Facebook rebuttal to the Dennis’ post, Augustine was still not satisfied with the Chief Secretary’s explanation.

“That entire press release of response is pure rubbish and excuses for not adhering to the financial regulations and the mandates of the auditor general’s office. It is always and excuse for them.”

He added: “Report after report from the auditor general’s office is damning and all we get are excuses.”

Augustine, who is the representative for Speyside/Parlatuvier/L’Anse Fourmi, complained that the PDP’s assemblymen were never offered emergency social assistance cards to help the vulnerable in their respective electoral districts.

“Were the PDP assemblymen offered any of these social emergency cards? The answer is no.

“Therefore, the act of decentralising the operation is just rubbish. They decentralised it to include party hacks but not all 12 assemblymen.”

Augustine also scoffed at Dennis’ claims that all of the THA’s records regarding the various covid19 relief initiatives were accounted for.

“He claimed that they have all of these records but why they were not presented for audit?”

He said Dennis must understand that the THA cannot spend money as it wants without process and oversight.

“There are regulations guiding these things. It is not for politicians to decide when and how to obey them.”

This story was originally published with the title "Chief Sec on auditor general's report: THA was not corrupt" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis has strongly rejected accusations of corruption being levelled against the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) in the wake of an auditor general’s report which unearthed discrepancies in its handling of state-funded covid19 relief initiatives.

The report, which was released last week and is now a public document, covered the period October 2019 to September 2020.

It said there were discrepancies in several THA divisions with respect to the disbursement of covid19 relief, including food vouchers, hampers and rental assistance.

Dennis said, “It is unfortunate that some individuals are bent on accusing this administration of malfeasance in public office without even taking the time to ascertain the facts.”

Acknowledging the auditor general's findings that not all established protocol was strictly adhered to for the disbursement of assistance, Dennis said the pandemic's negative impact expedited the need to provide help.

He said, “Now is not the time to frustrate our people with unnecessary bureaucracy and I am not in agreement with subjecting persons to any interview process to obtain a $500 hamper or voucher."

In its report, the auditor general’s department said the Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development received covid19 food hampers and vouchers totalling $658, 430.

But it noted discrepancies with respect to food card releases, managed by the Division of Finance and the Economy.

The report said at the start 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 at a total cost of $7,866,000, to augment the existing programme.

But it questioned whether the food cards were reaching those most in need, owing to incomplete documentation in some instances.

Progressive Democratic Patriots deputy political leader Farley Augustine on Monday called for the discrepancies to be thoroughly investigated.