The Auditor General’s 2023 Report showed the Finance Ministry could not account for $386.1 million worth of expenditure in that year, the Judiciary could not account for spending $34.4 million, nor could the Financial Intelligence Unit for $6.3 million, says UNC Political Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
She said documents to support payments of public funds totalling $386.1 million were not produced by the ministry’s Treasury division for examination.
“Are these the reasons they want to hide that report from public view?” she asked at Monday’s United National Congress meeting at La Horquetta.
The report also showed that Government collected $74.58 million by ticketing drivers in 2023. Persad-Bissessar recounted the imbroglio between Government and the Auditor General, where the Finance Minister refused to lay before Parliament the Auditor General’s report on T&T’s accounts for 2023 since the report did not include $2.6 billion, which was understated in revenues earlier.
Persad-Bissessar said tabling the report would allow the public to see how Government “spent 64-plus billion dollars” in the 2023 Budget.
She said the Finance Minister and Attorney General used the cloak of parliamentary privilege to attack the Auditor General “in the most vicious, unwarranted manner. The Government cannot account for one billion dollars in expenditure. The report speaks of this $1 billion in unaccounted expenditure.”
She added, “They spent $1 billion and cannot give evidence of where the money went. In that report, taxpayers would find out about questionable payments, suspicious contracts, a lack of supporting documents, and non-existent trading companies. There were no responses in some instances, and in others, explanations were inadequate. It exposes government ‘racketeering’.”
Persad-Bissessar said the report already revealed a government MP was being paid about $752,000 by Government for the rental of a building.
“It means the Cabinet is again giving one of their own PNM MP lucrative rental contracts, using taxpayers’ dollars ... Monroe Al Rental ... Remember Faris Al Rental?” she quipped.
Persad-Bissessar said the report cited areas of concern including non-compliance with legislative requirements, rules, regulations, and other directives; weaknesses in the systems of internal control; improper maintenance of accounting books and records; and breach of rights under the Constitution for the Auditor General or authorised people to have access to all books, records, returns, and other documents relating to the public accounts.
Persad-Bissessar said there were million-dollar payments for which no evidence of spending was shown included:
• Expenses in connection with international financial institutions: $231,039,987.88
• Fiscal Incentive Programme for farmers: $77,308,138.42
• Contracted Services: $24,730,727.86
• General Administration: Rent/Lease Accommodation and Storage: $15,333,921.74.
• Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU): $6.3M
Claiming some payments were “PNM ratchifees,” Persad-Bissessar indicated that if the situation was so in the report, then “that’s fraud and misconduct in public office. Somebody will have to pay for that!”
She added, “Imagine the FIU, the same institution that’s in charge of suspicious transactions, cannot account for $6.3 million! The Finance Minister must provide the documentation to support the spending of this $386 million. Where the money gone? And this is finance, which is supposed to oversee all ministries.”
No judicial verification on $34.3 million spent
Also in the report, Persad-Bissessar added, “The Judiciary, the institution that pontificates on the law, cannot provide a contract agreement for audit examination—how spent, to whom paid—for works valued at $34.454.
She noted the rehabilitation of the Hall of Justice Port-of-Spain ($15.728 million), the refurbishment of magistrates courts ($6.765 million), and the outfitting of the building at No 271 Naparima Mayaro Road, Princes Town ($3.512 million to suppliers).
Govt collects $74.58M ticketing drivers
Noting she recently spoke about Government “abusing” ticketing and the Demerit Points System to raise revenue, Persad-Bissessar added, “What is publicly presented as a mission for public safety is really a scheme for them to collect more money.
That ticketing and terrorism against drivers were never about road safety. It’s another tax drive by the Government, using the Licensing Authority to raise revenue.”
She said the Auditor General’s report stated that the total revenue collected for 2023 by the T&T Postal Corporation on the Works Ministry’s behalf concerning the fixed penalty traffic ticketing system amounted to $74,581,487.50.
“Ticketing drivers! Demerit system—squeezing people!” she added.