By Sue-Ann Wayow
ANY accusation of corruption against the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is being firmly rejected by its Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis and his office as it relates to the Auditor General’s 2020 report.
In a statement on Monday, 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.”
On Facebook, Dennis posted detailed information through the Office of the Chief Secretary (OCS) with the intention of bringing clarification to the Auditor’s General report which revealed weaknesses in the system he admitted.
Dennis said while he noted the concerns especially where Covid-19 relief grants were concerned, the pandemic required the THA to act quickly and efficiently.
“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. 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 minimizing opportunities for persons to finesse the system.”
He added that reviews and recommendations will be made on all issues raised especially with the collating of card information.
The Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development had an expenditure of $658,430.00 for Covid-19 food vouchers and food hampers and the report stated that the procedures for the distribution of the food vouchers were not adhered and were given to individuals without the completion of the necessary documentation.
“The Division accounted for all hampers and food vouchers distributed within the Covid-19 period in question,” OCS stated.
Some 14,500 had applied for assistance.
OCS stated that 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 and all records were lodged in the Division.
For the Division of Finance and the Economy card administration, the report stated that there was no segregation of duties in the Emergency Social Assistance Cards Unit as both officers who operated the Unit are collectively responsible for several tasks and certain documentation was not produced for audit.
OCS stated, “ The original structure of the Unit consisted of a Manager/Programme Coordinator and two employees. The Manager passed away and the position is currently vacant. Due to the significant increase in applications as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, officers of the Emergency Social Assistance Cards Programme assumed similar responsibilities, in an effort to ensure the timely and efficient processing and distribution of food cards to persons in need.”
It also stated that the procedures for the processing of applications were not adhered to and certain information left out but OCS stated information was being unnecessarily duplicated.
OCS added that the food card number assigned to each application was recorded in the Card Issuance and Pin Register which also includes the recipient’s name, address, telephone number, and signature of the person who received the card as well as the date the card was collected.
Initially, the bank in its management guidelines had requested that the Unit forward to the bank a copy of the PIN register but given the drastic increase in the number of applications to the Unit, personnel from the bank recommended that this process be discontinued and advised that only faulty cards should be forwarded to the bank for evaluation, OCS continued.
The report stated that 6,999 one time use cards to the value of at least $3,499,500.00 were not properly accounted for but OCS stated that during the pandemic period, the Executive Council took the decision, to decentralise the services of the Emergency Social Assistance Cards in order to avoid overcrowding and other such programs through the Electoral District Offices of Assemblymen and a quota system was not implemented to allocate the cards, given the unpredictability and uncertainty of the duration of the pandemic.
The report also stated that separate records from the THA’s Emergency Social Assistance Cards were not maintained for cards issued for Covid-19 expenditure but again information was being duplicated OCS stated.
The Auditor General report also noted concerns that the THA’s response plan for the agricultural sector has not been fully implemented with certain equipment and tools still to be delivered to the THA.
The agriculture incentive programme is valued at $967,000.
OCS stated that a tractor and two ploughs were procured from a supplier in Brazil but there was delay in its arrival due to the pandemic.
The Chief Secretary 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. Of course, there are those who for political expediency will suggest otherwise and I will say more on this in the coming days.”
Dennis is expected to meet with all administrators on Tuesday and well as the Auditor General to further discuss the findings of the report.
