Fitzgerald Bramble, New Democratic Party (NDP) MP for East Kingstown, said that the government collected $71 million in VAT in 2016; however, $68 million were still owed.
Bramble cited a Director of Audit report for 2016-2018, which he said was tabled in parliament in February of this year. last on the New Times programme on NICE Radio, he said he believed it was the first time the report had been discussed since it was tabled.
“This situation is very serious as it raises a number of questions and makes way for speculation by the public. Compliance by businesses and the government’s ability to collect VAT monies effectively were two of the main issues”.
According to the East Kingstown MP, the audit report identified a number of key issues impeding the proper functioning and efficiency of the office, such as inadequate staffing and challenges with VAT collection.
He noted that the report indicated that the office of the Director of Audit would visit 194 businesses to examine their books to determine whether the funds collected matched the funds paid over to the government. Only 37 (19%) businesses were visited.
For years, the office has struggled with a lack of adequate staffing and resources. Due to a lack of resources, the Director of Audit is unable to meet the requirements of timely auditing of the public accounts and the reports presented to parliament. In 2017, audited accounts were six years behind – reports for 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 remained outstanding.
As part of her mandate, the Director has been requesting resources – mainly training for employees – to enable her to audit statutory bodies. Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday stated in 2017 following a meeting which included then director of audit Dahalia Sealey and her deputy Joan Browne that the Director of Audit had not been receiving adequate resources and had not been able to carry out her duties in auditing statutory bodies.
“Starving the Director of Audit of trained personnel and other resources undermines governmental accountability,” Friday said.
“The failure to remedy the situation after many years of pleading for resources by the Director of Audit leads to only one conclusion: that is, the government does not care about accountability. This leads inescapably to the question: are they hiding something and if so, what are they hiding?” the opposition leader also said then.
Dr Friday disclosed last year that the government failed to account for EC$95 million between 2010 and 2015, representing the difference between the amount drawn down under the government’s overdraft account and the amount presented to the Director of Audit by the accountant general.
