‘No discretion’ on tabling of auditor general’s reports, says Barnett
Published:Tuesday | July 18, 2023 | 12:08 AM
Constitutional lawyer Dr Lloyd Barnett has argued that all government departments and agencies are subject to the accounting role of the auditor general and that reports from her office must be submitted to the Speaker for tabling without the exercise of any discretion.
The eminent constitutional attorney, speaking with The Gleaner, dismissed assertions that the tabling of reports from the Auditor General’s Department (AuGD) was done on the basis of parliamentary practice or convention but made it clear that this was a constitutional requirement.
He said Section 122 of the Constitution specifically requires the auditor general to audit public departments and bodies annually and to table those reports.
“Anything that is a government department is subject to the primary accounting function of the auditor general, and that function, when exercised, is also accompanied by the obligation, not a discretion, on the auditor general to submit the report to the Speaker, which shall cause those reports to be laid before the House – no discretion,” he declared.
Barnett pointed out that if the Government creates other bodies by statute, which are not ordinary government institutions but spend public funds, the auditor general is vested with the power to audit those bodies.
At today’s sitting of the House of Representatives, House Speaker Marisa Dalrymple Philibert is expected to divulge the opinion of Attorney General Dr Derrick McKoy regarding Section 30 subsection (2) of the Financial Administration and Audit (FAA) Act.
Earlier this month, the Speaker indicated that she would discontinue the practice by her predecessors to table reports from the auditor general as soon as possible after they are sent to Parliament.
She signalled that reports from the AuGD would be held for two months before tabling, in keeping with her interpretation of the FAA Act.
According to the Speaker, Section 30 of the law provides for “the auditor general’s report on a public body to be tabled where the minister with responsibility for that public body fails to report to this Parliament within a two-month period”.
Dalrymple Philibert had asked the attorney general to interpret this section of the law.
At least three reports from the AuGD are still in the possession of the Speaker, awaiting the opinion of the attorney general.