Latest update September 1st, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 16, 2012 News
By Dale Andrews
The Ministry of Home Affairs says it remains committed to strict financial accountability and is assuring
the public that at no time would it allow any breaches of the financial regulations in agencies that fall under its portfolio.
The Ministry was referring to what it called unsubstantiated allegations that “have been and are being made and continue to be made in some sections of the media and by certain political elements as regards to the utilisation of the sum of $90,649,200 by the Guyana Police Force.”
The contentious issue is the claim by some Divisional Commanders, especially Assistant Commissioner David Ramnarine, that they were not provided with monies to properly look after the welfare of their ranks during the period of inlying prior, during and after the November 28 general and regional elections.
Two weeks after the allegations were made the Guyana Police Force belatedly refuted the claims and had provided a breakdown of how the money was allocated to each Division and specific departments of the Guyana Police Force.
Police Headquarters received – $9,500,251; “A” Division-$8,526,676; “B” Division-$3,459,851; “C” Division-$2,299,465; “D” Division-$1,199,037; “E&F” Division-$1,696,888; “G” Division-$1,136,623; TSU-$4,176,144 and Special Constabulary-$496,887.
“The remaining sum of $10,516,178 is still in the Force’s accounting system,” the police had stated.
And it took the Ministry of Home Affairs even longer to state its position on the matter. This was after repeated calls by this media house and some opposition party executives for an explanation about the expenditure.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had sought the $90M from the contingencies fund to “meet additional expenditure for the General and Regional Elections 2011; for feeding Rural Constables working on Elections day; for feeding of police ranks inlyned and to meet expenditure associated with intensification of patrols in and around the city.”
According to the Home Affairs Ministry, $39,649,200 was to take care of budgetary shortfall to run the routine operations of the Guyana Police Force under Line Item 6261-local travel and subsistence.
This shortfall the Ministry said was brought to the attention of the finance ministry as early as the second quarter of 2011.
Eight million dollars catered for the transport and travelling of ranks, specific to General and Regional Elections activities.
This left $43,008,000 to feed the police ranks who were inlyned. “This expenditure also catered for the provision of rations for police ranks who were required to travel to outlying areas of the interior of the country to protect the integrity of the elections process,” the Ministry said in a statement yesterday.
The Ministry stated that it is customary for the provision for the feeding of ranks to be done in a manner consistent with the size, needs and peculiarities of each divisional cluster.
With direct reference to the allegation made by Assistant Commissioner David Ramnarine that he did not receive money from the Force for the elections, the organisation provided evidence of a cheque in the sum of $320,000 which was endorsed by the Commander himself and encashed by his Divisional Finance Rank.
The cheque was encashed by the Division’s Finance Officer, Inspector Mark Anthon.
Ramnarine yesterday acknowledged that he did endorse the cheque.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon said that budgets were submitted by the Army, Police, and Prison and Fire Services on what costs the public purse would have had to bear for the elections.
Luncheon said that if he were to concede with the contention of the Divisional Commanders that they did not receive any money, then “you may want to be looking at problems with distribution.”
“To do the logistics may very well be one factor that could have contributed to these claims,” Luncheon suggested, noting that elections polling stations were in the hundreds and scattered throughout the country.
“But it is not to say that there hasn’t been a full and proper account provided for the utilisation of those funds by the Police Finance Office, a use that has been documented and the accounts provided for the scrutiny from the Accountant General to verify that these sums have been committed,” Luncheon stated.
Although Ramnarine was the only Commander to go on record with his claims, other Commanders who had asked not to be named had also indicated that monies they had requested were never provided by the Force.
In fact although one particular division received in excess of $8M from the police elections fund allocation, its Commander was on television thanking members of the business community for their assistance in the provision of goods.
Ramnarine had claimed that he was advised by the Commissioner of Police Henry Greene to seek the assistance of the public to ensure that his ranks were adequately catered for since the Force was not provided with the funds it had requested.
He claimed that he was assisted by the business community to the tune of more than $1.5M.
Ramnarine’s Division covers areas in Regions One, Eight, Nine and Ten and caters for over 600 persons over a seven day period, thus, the $320,000 coupled with the $1,193,628 in dry ration and $183,260 in goods from other creditors appears miniscule.
Mineral and oil rich country borrowing to feed, clothe and house its citizens.
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