Auditor General wants explanation from DGO & MoF on ‘financial blunder’
This was revealed in the 2024 Audit Report by the Auditor General, who sought to ascertain the reasons for the discrepancy between the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimate and the actual cost of implementing the recommended salary regime.
According to the Report, PwC estimated that implementation of this option would require a $9.4 million increase over the 2023 salaries. The PwC report was accepted by the Deputy Governor’s Office, and steps commenced to secure implementation of the new salary regime.
Over $20M shortfall
Funding for the implementation of PwC’s recommended option was approved by Cabinet on November 20, 2023. Cabinet agreed that the estimated amount of $9,445,701 was to be included in the 2024 budget for the new salary structure to be effective from January 1, 2024.
In keeping with this decision, the $9.4 million was added to the 2024 budget together with a markup for social contributions (Social Security, National Health Insurance) for a total of $11.7 million. According to the Audit Report, this was approved by the House of Assembly on December 19, 2023.
Applying PwC’s projected $9.4 million into the 2024 budget, however, resulted in a shortfall of over $20 million.
Explanations needed- Auditor General
According to the Auditor General, while the PwC computations were based on the information provided and included a request for verification by the Ministry of Finance, the absence of a reliable, independent estimate to support the figures contributed to discrepancies between projections and actual expenditures.
The Report noted that on October 26, 2023, the Budget Unit forwarded to the Deputy Governor’s Office a schedule that showed that implementation of the new regime would require an additional $25.5 million for salaries. This, together with the related statutory obligations (payroll taxes, SS and NHI) of $2.2 million, brought the overall total to $27.7 million.
“There were indications that the cost of the implementation would be substantially higher than the Consultants’ estimates, but this information was not presented when the decision was brought before Cabinet."
“Despite this, increased emoluments were provided for within the initial 2024 authorised budget without full explicit disclosure of the actual cost. This ensured that the increases were covered financially, but subsequently led to concerns about fiscal transparency and public accountability in the House and the broader public.”
According to the Auditor General, in her conclusions, the Deputy Governor’s Office and the Ministry of Finance should provide explanations as to why Cabinet and the House of Assembly were not informed of the potentially greater cost for implementation of the salary increases.
See link to related article:
Premier chides Opposition for wrongfully blaming him for financial 'blunder'
2.png)
.jpg)
Follow Us On
24 Responses to “Auditor General wants explanation from DGO & MoF on ‘financial blunder’”
uk molesting the country them say
uk enslaving us them say
i guess wa the politicians doing us ain molestation or enslavement
for the Ignorant minority who supports independence and our corrupt politicians as our leaders despite all the bold face schemes and self enrichment tactics.... do you still think it is wise to go independence with any of our local politicians? are you still blind to the truth? how much more articles do u need to see?
them denouncing crime in the news but is the biggest criminals and biggest contributor and promoter... i watch music fest kartel performance and he had crowd of youths saying the gun goes PAP PAP PAP smh same gun that going take a life and yall going cry about it
same gun that youths wan to get for criminal life aafter indulging in dancehall music about sex drugs gangs and violence
you literally gloriying the criminal and gang life in songs bro. you going say is just music but them youths going take tthose lyrics and live that life. the females going support it and dance to it and young men going live it breed rinse and repeat
matther, myron, kye, natalio, vincent, sheri, marlon cline eetc etc yall dont give a jack about the bvi or the people yall only concern is raping the tax money into oblivion.... all of yall should be up in jail with andrew..all!!!
but yall in we head everyday complaining about UK but you dont hear your people complaints you wan us turn against uk and support you but yall never support the bvi and had the bvi best interest at heart.
i hope you , ur friends, family and small ignoran minority will never get indepence in yall lifetime never
as long as i live here i will make sure vote against independence and trust im a real bvi lander born and grown here over 30 years so you can't stop me
no wonder yall trying find ways to not make belongers vote . yall wan make sure no diversity comes in to shake up the elite system that all the elite family them built
i just hope karma and yall evil deeds hit all of yall who benefiting hard asf just like andrew
as long as i live i will never supporting no local elite family business as much as i can avoid them
yall done rich off of we tax money dont come try wash it or make triple off of me. that include yall pissy tail offspring's who get a head start in life and wanna come pushing business with the help and head start off of years of yall schemes and thieving
and yall got audacity to raise tax on good and services after giving yourself big pay raise so the public that yall treat like poop must support it with their contributions
The people with vehicle feeling it with derelict fee. So, see who building Tola, while the man them eating big,traveling frequently and rubbing shoulder with the who ha them. Water bill will soon go up,and the essential in the supermarket and government services. Silly me to ask the question who paying for the short fall.
We keep using them and keep paying them and their reports either do not exist, are invisible or are worthless.
Can we stop?
INDEPENDENCE = CORRUPTION