Method of govt lotto funds spending illegal -Goolsarran Public Accounts Committee calls for immediate halt By Gitanjali Singh Stabroek News October 9, 2000 Government's spending of monies from its share of the lottery proceeds, including funding of the President's Youth Choice Initiative, has been dubbed illegal and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has asked that this practice be halted immediately. The government up to the end of September had received $1,361,573,134 as its 24% share of the lottery proceeds and has been spending from this on an ad hoc basis in the social sector and more recently to fund the President's Youth Choice Initiative. A source from the PAC told Stabroek News on Friday that Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran, in his 1998 report to the National Assembly said the government's share of the lottery proceeds was not paid over to the Consolidated Fund as required. Rather it was kept in a special account at the Bank of Guyana. Goolsarran, the source also said, reported that the spending of monies from this account was done without parliamentary approval, a breach of Section 17 of the Financial Administration and Audit (FAA) Act. The source said the PAC, in considering the accounts for 1995-8, was recommending to the government that it immediately stop the practice as it was usurping the authority of parliament. The PAC is chaired by PNC parliamentarian, Dunstan Barrow and comprises PNC parliamentarians Lance Carberry and Takechand Ramnauth; PPP parliamentarians Dr Motilall, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, Eddie Rodney and Pauline Sukhai; The United Force representative Manzoor Nadir and the Alliance for Guyana representative Dr Rupert Roopnaraine. Their report on the consideration of the accounts from 1995-8 is ready and should be tabled in parliament once it reconvenes. The source, who preferred not to be named, said the current spending arrangement by the government from the Lotteries Fund could lead to massive irregularities as it was not clear who the signatories to the account at the Bank of Guyana were and who administered the account. Contacted for a comment on the issue on Friday, Goolsarran confirmed that the retention of the money outside the Consolidated Fund and expenditure without parliamentary approval were illegal. He referred Stabroek News to his 1998 report to the National Assembly on the issue. "The use of such funds to meet public expenditure is a breach of not only the FAA Act but also parliamentary approval to incur expenditure," Goolsarran said on page 201 of the 1998 report which was presented to the government in April of this year and later tabled in the National Assembly. Goolsarran said that proceeds from the lottery were public revenues and should be paid over to the Consolidated Fund. Any related expenditure, he said, should be met from appropriations by Parliament. The Lottery Fund Account, according to the report, was established in 1995 to receive the government's 24% share of the lotto proceeds. Between 1995 and 1999, the account received a total of $1 billion. Of this sum $178 million had been spent at the end of 1999 and $880 million was in the account. In 1998 the sum of $39.8 million was deposited by the Guyana Lottery Commission to be used by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports for the hosting of youth camps, rehabilitation of multi-purpose play fields/courts at Agricola, North Ruimveldt and Alberttown and for rehabilitation works at the National Archives and Castellani House. In addition to this, $835,200 was received from the UNDP and $1.5 million from the Ministry of Finance. As at December 1998, the public accounts report said, the account showed that sums totalling $14.9 million were spent but not recorded as expenditure in the appropriation accounts. This was in addition to direct payments totalling $7.8 million by the Guyana Lotteries Commission and the Ministry of Finance. President Bharrat Jagdeo launched the President's Youth Choice Initiative this year and close to $300 million has been earmarked for projects under this scheme in the various regions. However, the funding arrangement was also said to be illegal as it usurped the functions of Parliament. Repeated efforts over the last two months by Stabroek News to get clearance from Chairman of the Guyana Lotteries Commission, Kellawan Lall, to speak to Jasmine Dinally who oversees the expenditure of the government's share of the lotto funds have proven futile. Stabroek News wanted an updated listing of the expenditure from the Lottery Fund Account. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today