Alleges Goolsarran’s selection as a forensic auditor by the coalition government violated the Audit Act.
When the APNU+AFC held power, appointing former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran as a forensic auditor contravened several sections of the Audit Act and other relevant legislation. This revelation came to light as Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), reiterated his concerns about Goolsarran’s integrity during his weekly press conference on Thursday.
Goolsarran, who had been threatening legal action against Dr. Jagdeo for his comments regarding his integrity, attempted to counter Jagdeo’s statements in a letter to the editor. However, the General Secretary dismissed Goolsarran’s assertions, denying his statement about reducing procurement fraud in the APNU+AFC’s 2015 manifesto. Jagdeo displayed the manifesto document and referenced page 46 to support his claims.
Dr. Jagdeo also pointed out Section 4 (2) and (3) of the Audit Act of 2004, which pertains to the government’s authority to conduct additional audits with agreement from key stakeholders. He emphasized that Goolsarran’s appointment as a special auditor did not adhere to the law. According to Jagdeo, “Mr. Goolsarran, in 2015, was personally selected by APNU to conduct forensic audits. He should be well-versed in the law and know that the Minister of Finance was not authorized to engage him for any audit directly. Such an appointment was unlawful and did not go through the Auditor General as required. Additionally, it should have gone through the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, which never occurred.”
In a previous press conference, Dr. Jagdeo steadfastly defended his earlier claims of Goolsarran’s integrity deficit. He highlighted Goolsarran’s role as Deputy Auditor General during the 1980s under the PNC regime, where he was responsible for drafting audit reports for the central government accounts. However, no such reports were produced during Goolsarran’s tenure, raising questions about the appropriate use of public funds allocated to the Auditor General’s office.
Special reporter, Georgetown, Guyana