Ministry clearing up accounting arrears

Erica Virtue, Staff Reporter

The Ministry of National Security and Justice says it has cleared approximately 70 per cent of its accounting arrears, since that Ministry admitted to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC) in 1998 that its accounts were four years behind schedule.

The arrears, according to Permanent Secretary Elaine Baker, existed since 1994. The accounts of the police, Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and the Department of Correctional Services were also in arrears, their representatives told Parliament. The arrears were first made public by the Auditor General's Report in 1998.

In response to questions from The Sunday Gleaner, the Security Ministry stated that "approximately 70 per cent of the arrears in the Ministry accounts up to the financial year 1998/1999 (has) been cleared".

A statement from the office of Shirley Byfield, the Ministry's information officer, said last week that the Ministry has put in place a, "task force of experienced persons from the accounts division to clear up the rest. This includes the employment of two retired persons."

The Sunday Gleaner was unable to ascertain whether the 70 per cent clearance included statements of the police.

But, on Friday, information received from the office of the Auditor-General indicated that, although efforts were being made to be current, there was still a backlog in some departments of the Security Ministry's portfolio.

"The last financial statement we received from the police is up to July 1999. The Ministry itself, up to May 1999, the Courts up to January 2000 and the Correctional Services, up to February 1997," a spokesperson for the auditor general said last week.

The information indicated that, while the departments were making an effort to be current, it did not mean that the backlog was cleared. Also, while the other agencies appeared to have made some progress, the Correctional Services were still behind in filing financial statements.

During the PAC meeting, that department said it was asking for an additional staff member to assist with clearing the backlog.

Commissioner of Corrections Colonel John Prescod could not be contacted last week for comment. It also could not be ascertained if the JDF had cleared its backlog. Major General John Simmonds had said in 1998 that he was giving his staff six months to clear the backlog.

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