The Education Ministry has formally withdrawn its request to the Auditor General’s Office to have a special audit conducted into the operations and affairs of the University of Guyana (UG).
But Auditor General Deodat Sharma says he will go ahead with the probe anyways.
This special audit was initially requested in light of several complaints raised by representatives of UG’s Workers Union (UGWU) and UG’s Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) regarding what has already been described as the “wanton spending of scarce resources”.
“The Permanent Secretary (PS) had withdrawn the request but we are still going ahead with my auditors to look at it because there was a concern. So that is the issue right now. It is ongoing…it is one of the audits that has been contracted out,” Sharma said.
Efforts to contact the Ministry to find out reasons for the withdrawal of the request proved futile.
The accounts at UG have not been “up to date” and the reports for the accounts for the year 2015 are only now being made available, the Auditor General explained.
This will have an effect on the length of time it will take to have the audit completed.
Just three weeks ago, the Presidents of the two UG Unions were calling for the swift commencement of this audit, after alleging that the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith and Pro-Chancellor, Joe Singh, who heads the institution’s council, were practically running the institution to fit their own desire.
Professor Griffith has since withdrawn his request for a renewal of his contract, which comes to an end June 14, 2019.
