The Auditor General is still waiting for information on the identity of businesses and individuals who tendered more than $32.78 million in dishonoured cheques to Government.The figure reported by the Accountant General’s Office is not only staggering, but Auditor General Leigh Trotman says those responsible for the bad cheques remain a mystery.Reporting in his 2021 report for the 12-month period ending March 31, Trotman said “A balance of $32,786,650.07 was reported in respect of dishonoured cheques received. However, the relevant listing of the individuals or entities to whom these amounts referred was not provided for audit inspection; hence, the auditors could not verify this total,” he outlined.The Auditor General has cast doubt on several figures presented by the Government Treasury which were prepared by the Accountant General’s Office.
Barbados’ first prime minister and National Hero Errol Walton Barrow famously referred to the island’s public service as “an army of occupation”.It was not a term of endearment but symbolic of the frustration in seeking to properly manage the tens of thousands of people employed by the state.In 2022, we must consider whether Barbados’ public sector has become too big, too entrenched with outdated structures and rules, and too fragmented to undertake its functions in an efficient, cost effective way.Revelations from the most recent issue of the Auditor General’s report highlights some examples of dysfunction in the operations of our public service.Some of the Auditor General’s complaints reflected systemic issues, some are failure to adhere to established procedures, an absence of enforcement of the rules, as well as systems that are not fit for purpose. In some instances, there is just plain neglect of duty and attempts to abuse the system for personal gain.
Auditor General Leigh Trotman says that based on public records, the property housing the abandoned Four Seasons Project has been transferred to a private company but he has seen no evidence of payment related to the transaction. Trotman gave an update on the matter in a follow-up audit in his 2021 annual report, one year after he raised concern about $120 million related to the project being written off in …
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Auditor General Leigh Trotman has chastised the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) for failing to do spot checks at its cash collection points across the island, as required by law, and identified discrepancies amounting to millions of dollars for which no explanations have yet been given.In his latest report covering the year ended March 31, 2021, Trotman called for investigations and swift action to address the inconsistencies.The Government’s auditor, whose position is legally protected from political interference, raised specific questions about a more than $6 million difference between what the cashier’s report at one BRA collection point stated and what the Central Bank indicated was collected.According to that September 22, 2020 cashier report for the Treasury Office in Bridge Street Mall, Bridgetown, cheques totalling $10.19 million were collected. However, there was a massive $6.62 million difference between that report and what the Central Bank listed as the amount received