Retired High Court judge Justice David Harris has been selected by the Cabinet to lead the investigation into the understatement of revenue for the financial year 2023 and related matters that have led to an ongoing fiasco between the Ministry of Finance and the Auditor General.
Just days after he called on the public to await the outcome of an independent probe into the matter before forming conclusions from what he described as “lopsided opinions, uninformed commentary, idle speculation, and foolish statements,” Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced the team to lead the probe yesterday.
During the virtual media briefing, Imbert defended the objectivity of the team, which also includes David Benjamin, a former audit director at the Auditor General’s Department, and specialists in Information Technology.
“We settled on Justice David Harris, a very highly respected High Court judge to be the chairman. I don’t think there is any question the judge would not be independent, that would not determine the true facts, and then I also wanted to get someone who was not an employee of the Ministry of Finance. There are many employees in the Ministry of Finance who worked at the Auditor General’s department and have been promoted out of that department to become permanent secretaries, deputy permanent secretaries.
“In fact, right now one of my permanent secretaries was a senior official at the Auditor General’s department, and one of my deputy permanent secretaries was also a senior official at the Auditor General’s department, I didn’t want to use somebody like that because there would be allegations of lack of partiality.”
He also noted that the IT specialists were not from T&T. “The IT consultants are actually from Norway, so they are in no way associated with Trinidad and Tobago, and they are completely impartial consultants who will be looking at the software programme itself.”
The team will be requested to report to the Minister of Finance within two months, and included among the seven terms of reference for the investigation were determining the circumstances that led to the understatement of revenue in the public accounts for the financial year 2023 and what should be done to avoid a recurrence of the same, as well as the efficacy of the new Electronic Cheque Clearing System introduced by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago in February 2023.
The appointment of the investigative team is the latest development following a dispute between the Finance Ministry and Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass relating to the submission of documents relating to the $2.6 billion understatement.
Imbert had previously described a legal letter from attorneys at Freedom Law Chambers, representing Ramdass, as containing the insinuation that he, as Minister of Finance, or ministry officials, unethically backdated the amended public accounts to January 31, 2024, to cover a mistake, when the true date on the amended public accounts is April 16, 2024.
Speaking in the Upper House over a week ago, Imbert said the claim was a blatant untruth that has been put into the public domain and required a full, independent investigation.
The terms of reference of the investigation will also include:
* The efforts made by the officials at the Ministry of Finance and its various divisions to correct the understatement of revenue, and to advise the Auditor General of the understatement and provide her with an explanation, clarification and further information on same;
* What was the response of the Auditor General to the efforts of the public officials described above and what action was taken by the Auditor General in relation to the understatement of revenue in the audit of the Public Accounts for the financial year 2023;
* What are the facts in relation to the allegations and statements made by the Auditor General in her Report on the Public Accounts of T&T for the Financial Year 2023, including the addendum and appendices, with specific reference to the understatement of revenue in the public accounts for the financial year 2023
* Any other related matters; and
* Findings and recommendations going forward.
Imbert warns Opposition against spreading “misleading” information
Imbert also cautioned the Opposition against spreading what he labelled as “misleading” information regarding the impasse.
“They have been misleading the population by making scandalous allegations, false allegations, and ridiculous statements. For example, at the most recent Monday night forum, I’m told the leader of the opposition made an absurd claim that 386 million dollars have gone missing from the Ministry of Finance. That is absolute rubbish.
“What I am seeing in terms of what was posted on the screen at that Monday night forum is that it is being alleged that documents were not provided to support payments totalling $386 million in 2023, such as expenses in connection with international financial institutions, fiscal incentives for farmers, and so on. The fact of the matter is that when one does not understand the language in these audit statements, you could mislead yourself and then everybody else. When a statement is made that documents are not provided, it does not mean evidence of the payment was not provided.”
Imbert stated that since the public fallout there was no “relationship issue between myself and the Auditor General, I certainly would not want to personalise this at all.”
He also maintained that while it is standard practice that in the audit process after initial documents are submitted allowances for clarification are permitted by the auditor, the current situation was odd.
“It is very unusual what we have found ourselves in, where there appears to be a reluctance to accept additional information. It is a very unusual situation, and it is not normal from my research.”
No comment from Auditor General’s attorney
Guardian Media contacted the head of Freedom Law Chambers, Anand Ramlogan, for a response to the assertions made by the Finance Minister against Ramdass during yesterday’s media briefing, however, he was unable to comment as he did not view the media conference.