Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran has said a financial paper tabled by the government to clear advances from the Contingencies Fund is in breach of the law.
In a column published in the Stabroek News on February 9, Goolsarran criticised Financial Paper No. 2 of 2025, which seeks parliamentary approval for GY$18.821 billion in advances made from the Contingencies Fund between November 18 and December 16, 2025.
Under Article 223 of Guyana’s Constitution, the Minister of Finance may authorise advances from the Contingencies Fund where there is an urgent need for expenditure not otherwise provided for, but must present a supplementary estimate to the National Assembly “as soon as practicable,” Goolsaran said. Section 41(5) of the Fiscal Management and Accountability (FMA) Act further requires the Minister to report on such advances at the next sitting of the Assembly.
Goolsarran said the paper was tabled on January 26, 2026, almost four weeks after the end of the fiscal year, despite provisions in the FMA Act that require government accounts to be closed on December 31. Sections 26 and 35 of the Act state that all appropriations lapse at year-end and that any unpaid commitments must be met from appropriations approved for the following fiscal year.
“This clearly implies that all unspent balances at the end of the fiscal year have to be returned to the Consolidated Fund,” Goolsarran wrote, arguing that approval of the supplementary estimate after year-end would require the government’s 2025 books to remain open beyond the legally prescribed period.
He also questioned why the National Assembly was not convened before the end of 2025 to approve the supplementary estimate, instead of relying on the Contingencies Fund. The paper’s designation as “Financial Paper 2 of 2025,” he said, further complicates compliance with the Act.
Goolsarran called on Deodat Sharma to comment on the matter, noting the auditor general’s recent public statements that his office is conducting “real-time” audits rather than ex post evaluations.
