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– Deputy MayorThe lack of an Internal Auditor at City Hall may have been one of the principal reasons that financial irregularities and mismanagement have been allowed to persist at the Georgetown municipality over the years, a situation which has been gaining the attention of a Commission of Inquiry.According to Deputy Mayor Robert Williams, the council in its efforts to get systems in place had recognised the usefulness of an Internal Auditor, a position which does not exist despite the many efforts of the council to do so.Deputy Mayor Robert Williams (standing at left) makes a presentationWilliams’ disclosure came on Friday when Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry, Keith Burrowes, met with officers of the municipality along with City Councillors in his quest to get a better insight on the challenges that the municipality faces.Williams, at the solemn forum, pointed out to Burrowes that the council is cognisant of the fact that it cannot function well without certain positions being filled and certain responsibilities being delegated.For this reason, Williams said that the operation of the council is significantly challenged because of the absence of an Internal Auditor. “Even if we try to rectify certain situations the person whom we expect as a council to initiate an initial examination is yet to be replaced, having retired.”Against this background, Williams noted that it is hoped that the Commission of Inquiry could speak to the question of ownership and relationship between and among departments even as he hinted to levels of ineptness within the system.According to him, it is common knowledge that there is a system in place whereby heads of departments meet at least once a fortnight to discuss matters towards the betterment of the municipality and to examine the decisions of council and determine the best method of implementation.However, there have been shortcomings in this system as it relates to satisfying the services that citizens expect.Nonetheless, Williams noted that the council as a corporate body has been managing the affairs of the municipality in terms of its policies consistent with the by-laws and consistent with corporate policies.“Whether or not the systems that we have put in place to aid the implementation of the decision of council is adequate…I believe that had they been utilised it could have had much better results…And because they were not utilised it could have resulted in the problems that we have encountered that necessitates an inquiry.”According to Williams,NFL Jerseys China, it was the view of the council that an inquiry was inevitable, adding that the intervention of the Auditor General came as a direct consequence of the council’s request.Williams disclosed that prior to seeking the AG’s intervention, several councillors in their professional capacities had offered their advice as a means of remedying some of the inadequacies such as in the finance department, as it relates to reconciliation,Authentic NFL Jerseys From China, method of accounting, and systems of granting advances, among other issues.But according to Williams,NFL Jerseys China Online, guidance was not accepted not even minimally,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, thus resulting in what the AG had discovered.The AG report of 2007,Cheap Jerseys USA, as in previous years, had discovered instances of financial mismanagement and irregularities which seriously implicated the offices of the Town Clerk and the City Treasurer.The discovery led to the heads of the two departments being sent home even as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Kellawan Lall, requested that a Commission of Inquiry, headed by Burrowes, investigate the findings of the AG report.Also at the forum on Friday,Wholesale Jerseys China, Williams categorically noted that the council has not accepted that there has been a fraud or irregularities by any officer of the departments in question and therefore does not require the Chairman of the Inquiry to investigate anyone for fraud or irregularities that is bordering on fraud.“This council, and it is specifically written, requested an investigation primarily based on the compliance of the systems that were put in place and their adherence and whether or not the findings of the Auditor General bears any resemblance to the statements made in the report.”Burrowes,NFL Jerseys Supply, who is on the verge of completing his inquiry into the operation of the municipality, is slated to meet with officials again this week. |
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