Auditor General Adrian Strachan said that in his last report, 22 public entities were implicated for making improper payments. He pointed out that seven of that number were red-flagged for improper payments in excess of $1 million. Mr. Strachan revealed that the improper payments were either made to employees or persons or entities outside of Government.

"The audits identified a number of instances in which payments amounting to $50.4 million were made in breach of the stipulated rules and guidelines or without the requisite approval," read a section of the March 2006 report. "Overpayments totalling $20.1 million were also observed or reported to me based on the findings of internal auditors. The implicated agencies were told to bring themselves in compliance with the governmental regulations, to cease unauthorised payments and effect recovery of overpayments," the report added.

Payment concerns

Improper payments and overpayments were also a cause for concern in the Auditor General's previous report. A comparison of both reports showed that there was a $56.3 million jump in improper payments and overpayments.

While Mr. Strachan pointed out that overpayments are understandable mistakes, he was less tolerant about improper payments being made from the public purse. He said the number of instances where overpayments were made were not alarming but insisted that improper payments should never occur. "The improper payments, you shouldn't have any at all. In the case of the overpayment now, many times it is because of delays in communication or human error," he explained.