How can the public hold government accountable when audits are nearly a decade behind? That’s the question being raised as the Office of the Auditor General works through a massive backlog, with the most recent audit report reviewed by lawmakers covering finances from 2017. As auditors race to catch up, concerns are growing that potential financial irregularities happening today may not come to light for years. We asked Joint Public Accounts Committee Chairman Godwin Haylock whether the system is keeping pace with the need for transparency.
Godwin Haylock
Godwin Haylock, Chairman, Joint Public Accounts Committee
“I feel that where mistakes are made in the government system, it must be cured and when we find a problem with a policy and it we change the policy, it might not stop what happened in 2017, but it will certainly stop it from reoccurring, because a lot of the things we see happening today, for example, we now have the latest scandal that Mira family has been involved in contracts and we want to know if it is right or wrong. In all honestly, these things have not been happening just today. It has been happening and continues to happen, so it is examining the policies and bringing solutions to it.”
Paul Lopez
“But wouldn’t you also agree that more current and relevant audits should also form a part of those reviews and interviews JPAC is conducting?”
Godwin Haylock
“I would want to see both current and past audits come to the House and after it is tabled, brought to us so that we can scrutinize it. But at this stage, I can say that we have no control on what will come down to us. It goes to the House in order from way back when. So until two years from now before it becomes current the earliest.”
Paul Lopez
“So where are we?”
Godwin Haylock
“We are at 2017 in 2026, so we are just about nine years away.”
Haylock says the auditor general submits reports to the National Assembly as soon as they’re completed. He notes that the 2018 and 2019 audit reports have now been finalized and are expected to be tabled in the House shortly.
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
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