The car that uses $3M in gas per year

Nov 10, 2018 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

A serious review of the financial and management operations of the Guyana Defence Force should be undertaken. The 2017 Auditor General’s Report unearths serious irregularities within the Guyana Defence Force.
The report represents a serious indictment against the Guyana Defence Force. The Commander in Chief should order a Commission of Inquiry into the financial practices of the Defence Force during 2017, especially when it comes to the management of resources and the award of contracts.
Last year, the GDF spent $4.3 billion to procure goods and services and another $844 million for capital expenditure. These are astronomical sums for which taxpayers are entitled to assurances that value was had for the monies expended ad that there was transparency in the use of these funds.
Serious questions have been raised by the Auditor General about the spending of some of these allocations. The Guyana Defence Force last year cost Guyanese taxpayers $11 billion. It is therefore unacceptable to have the sort of irregularities unearthed by the Auditor General. According to the Auditor General, one vehicle used an average of $256,242 per month in fuel in 2017. This is an astounding amount of fuel consumption for a motor car. It works out, at present prices, to an average monthly fuel consumption of 1,113 liters. The average fuel consumption of a vehicle of that model is about 500 kilometers per every 50 liters or 10 kilometers per liter. It would mean that to use 1,114 liters per month would require the vehicle travelling 10,114 kilometers. Now if the vehicle was used 20 days per month it would mean that on any single day, the vehicle would have to cover more than 500 kilometers per day. Using an average speed of 60 km per hour, it would mean that the vehicle would have to be driven for six and half hours per day for 20 days a month for 12 months to be able to consume an average of $256,242 in petrol? But it also means that the vehicle would have had to be serviced every 10 days and have a complete change of tires every three months.
The Guyana Defence Force could only say, when asked for a response by the Auditor General, that it was undertaking an investigation. That is certainly not good enough. This level of fuel consumption, if verified, amounts to organized crime.
This is just one of many serious financial and other irregularities exposed by the Auditor General in his review of the accounts of the Guyana Defence Force. The Force spent $608,000 on an Ultrasonic Cleaning Machine but this piece of equipment could not be produced for inspection by the Auditor General’s staff. The Force confirmed that the item cannot be accounted for and that the relevant persons will be disciplined.
The Auditor General noted that the GDF entered into an agreement with a supplier on 27th October 2017 for the supply of trucks. The Force agreed to pay the contractor $45.314M in advance and the remaining $19.420M upon delivery of the vehicles, while the contractor agreed to deliver within three months on signing of the agreement.
The Audit Office noted that “At the time of reporting, the trucks were not delivered while the cheque for the remaining $19.420M had since become stale dated and was still on hand at the Sub-Treasury. In addition, a performance security clause was not included in the agreement.
Further, the contract document was not provided for audit examination to determine if liquidated damages were to be charged on the contract for untimely delivery. It was noted that the supplier indicated that the trucks will be shipped on the 20 September 2018.”
These are the sort of practices which can no longer be encouraged. It is time that the GDF management be subjected to greater scrutiny, including examining whether public funds are being diverted for private purposes.

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