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THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CO-OPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA
(2) The Secretary to the Cabinet, who shall have charge of the Cabinet Office, shall be responsible in accordance with such instructions as may be given him by the President, for arranging the business for, and keeping the minutes of, the Cabinet and for conveying the decisions of the Cabinet to the appropriate person or authority and shall have such other functions as the President may direct.
118. (1) Cabinet may establish sub-committees of itself for the purpose of attending to any of its responsibilities.
(2) Cabinet may in particular establish a finance sub-committee of itself to be assisted by experts and advisers, including the Auditor General and charge it with responsibility for supervising the financial affairs of the State and for instituting, monitoring and enforcing systems of financial control and discipline throughout the service of both central and local government, including the service of corporations, boards and agencies established by the Government.
119. Subject to any provision made by Parliament, the President may appoint standing committees consisting of such persons as he may deem fit for the purpose of reviewing or examining any aspect of national life and making recommendations or otherwise reporting thereon to the Government or to Parliament.
120. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and of any other law, the President may constitute offices for Guyana, make appointments to any such office and terminate any such appointment.
121. The Prerogative of Mercy shall vest in the President and shall be exercised by him in accordance with the provisions of articles 188, 189 and 190.
122. (1) There shall be an Ombudsman for Guyana.
(2) All matters relating to the appointment and functions of the Ombudsman and other matters connected therewith are regulated by articles 191 to 196 (inclusive)
The Supreme Court of Judicature
123. (1) There shall be for Guyana a Supreme Court of Judicature consisting of a Court of Appeal and a High Court, with such jurisdiction and powers as are conferred on those Courts respectively by this Constitution or any other law.
(2) If the office of the Director is vacant or if the holder thereof, is for any reason unable to perform the functions thereof, the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission, tendered as aforesaid, may appoint a person to act in the office of the Director, and any person so appointed shall, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (4) and (5), continue to act until a person has been appointed to the office of the Director and has assumed the functions of that office, or as the case may be, until the holder thereof has resumed those functions.
(3) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed to hold or to act in the office of the Director unless he is qualified to be appointed as a Puisne Judge of the High Court.
(4) Subject to the provisions of the next following paragraph, the Director shall vacate his office when he attains the age of sixty years:
Provided that the President, acting after consultation with the Minority Leader, may permit a Director who has attained the age of sixty years to continue in office until he has attained such later age, not exceeding sixty-five years, as may (before the Director has attained the age of sixty years) have been agreed with the Director.
(5) The provisions of article 225 (which relate to removal from office) shall apply to the office of the Director, and the prescribed authority for the purposes of paragraph (4) of that article shall be the Prime Minister or the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and for the purposes of paragraph (6) of that article shall be the Public Service Commission.
(6) Parliament may provide that appointments to, or to act in, the office of the Director shall be made by the President acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial Service Commission instead of the Public Service Commission, and, if Parliament provides as aforesaid, the references to the Public Service Commission in paragraphs (1), (2) and (5) of this article shall have effect as if they were references to the Judicial Service Commission.
204. (1) The Auditor General shall be appointed by the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission.
(2) If the office of Auditor General is vacant or the holder of the office if for any reason unable to perform the functions thereof, the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission, may appoint a person to act in the office, and any person so appointed shall, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (3) and (4), continue to act until a person has been appointed to the office of the Auditor-General and has assumed the functions of that office or, as the case may be, until the holder thereof has resumed those functions.
(3) Subject to the provisions of the next following paragraph, the Auditor General shall vacate his office when he attains such age as may be prescribed by Parliament.
(4) The provisions of article 225 (which related to removal from office) shall apply to the office of Auditor General, and the prescribed authority for the purposes of paragraph (4) of that article shall be the Prime Minister or the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and for the purposes of paragraph (6) of that article shall be the Public Service Commission.
205. (1) The power to make appointments to the offices to which this article applies and to remove office persons holding or acting in such offices shall vest in the President.
(2) Before making an appointment in favour of any person who holds any public office other than an office to which this article applies, the President shall consult the appropriate Commission.
(3) The offices to which this article applies are the offices of Solicitor General, Permanent Secretary, Secretary to the Cabinet, Ambassador, High Commissioner or other principal representative of Guyana in any other country or accredited to any international organisation.
(4) In paragraph (2) of this article "the appropriate Commission" means, in the case of a person who holds an office power to make appointments to which is vested in the President acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial Service Commission or is vested in that Commission, the Judicial Service Commission, in the case of a person who is a teacher in the public service, the Teaching Service Commission, in the case of a person who is a teacher in the public service, the Teaching Service Commission, in the case of a person who holds an office power to make appointments to which is vested in the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Police Service Commission or is vested in that Commission, the Police Service Commission, and in any other case the Public Service Commission.
206. (1) The power to make appointments on transfer to the offices to which this article applies shall vest in the President.
(2) The offices to which this article applies are -
(a) offices (rather than those to which the preceding article applies) the holders of which are required to reside outside Guyana for the proper discharge of their functions; and
(b) other Minister designated by him for the purpose of authorising the replacement of the amount so advanced.
221. The public debt of Guyana and the service of that debt (including the interest on that debt, sinking funds payments and redemption moneys in respect of that debt and costs, charges and expenses of an incidental to the management of that debt) are hereby charged on the Consolidated Fund.
222. (1) There shall be paid to the holders of the offices to which this article applies such salaries and such allowances as may be prescribed by or under any law or, in the case of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, as may be determined under article 158 (4).
(2) The salaries and allowances payable to the holders of the offices to which this article applies are hereby charged on the Consolidated Fund.
(3) The salary and allowances payable to the holder of any office to which this article applies and his other terms of service shall not be altered to his disadvantage after his appointment, and, for the purposes of this paragraph, in so far as the terms of service of any person depend upon the option of that person, the terms for which he opts shall be taken to be more advantageous to him than any other terms for which he might have opted.
(4) This article applies to the offices of President, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, any Judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature, members of the Election Commission, the Judicial Service Commission, the Public Service Commission, the Teaching Service Commission or the Police Service Commission, the Ombudsman, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Auditor General, and the Commissioner of Police.
223. (1) There shall be an Auditor General for Guyana, whose office shall be a public office.
(2) The public accounts of Guyana and of all offices and authorities of the Government of Guyana (including the Commissions established by this Constitution) and the accounts of the Clerk of the National Assembly and of all courts in Guyana shall be audited and reported on by the Auditor General, and for that purpose the Auditor General or any person authorised by him in that behalf shall have access to all books, records, returns and other documents relating to those accounts.
(3) The Auditor General shall submit his reports to the Minister responsible for finance, who shall cause them to be laid before the National Assembly.
(4) Subject to article 118, in the exercise of his functions under this Constitution the Auditor General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.
224. Where under this Constitution any provision may be made by rules of court, rules for the purpose may be made by the authority for the time being empowered generally, by law in force in Guyana, to make rules of court in relation to civil proceedings in the High Court or, in so far as the provision relates to the bringing of any appeal to, or the institution of other proceedings in, or the practice and procedure of, the Court of Appeal, by the authority so empowered in relation to civil proceedings in that court.
225. (1) Where it is provided in this Constitution that this article shall apply to any office, a person holding such office (in this article referred to as "the office") shall not be removed therefrom or suspended from the exercise of the functions thereof except in accordance with the provisions of this article; and the prescribed authority for the purpose of paragraph (4) and (6) shall, in relation to any office, be the authority prescribed for that purpose by the provision of this Constitution by which this article is applied to that office.
(2) The officer may be removed from office only for inability to discharge the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause whatsoever) or for misbehaviour.
(3) The officer shall be removed from office by the President if the question of this removal from office has been referred to a tribunal appointed under this article and the tribunal has recommended to the President that the office ought to be removed from office for inability as aforesaid or for misbehaviour.
(4) If the prescribed authority advises the President that the question of removing the office from office under this article ought to be investigated then-
(a) the President shall appoint a tribunal which shall consist of a Chairman and not less than two other members, selected by the President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission from among persons who hold or have held office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court or who are qualified to be admitted to practise in Guyana as attorneys-at-law and have been so qualified for such period as is prescribed by Parliament for such period as is prescribed by Parliament for the purposes of sub-paragraph (b) of article 129 (1) in relation to the office of Puisne Judge; and
(b) that tribunal shall enquire into the matter and report on the facts thereof to the President and recommend to him whether the office ought to be removed under this article.
(5) The provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act as in force immediately before the commencement of this Constitution shall, subject to the provisions of this article and of article 197(9), apply as nearly as may be in relation to tribunals appointed under this article, or, as the context may require, to the members thereof as they apply in relation to Commissions or Commissioners appointed under that Act, and in such application shall have affect as if they formed part of this Constitution.
(6) If the question of removing the officer from office has been referred to a tribunal under this article, the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the prescribed authority, may suspend the officer from performing the functions of his office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the President, acting in accordance with such advice as aforesaid, and shall in any case cease to have effect if the tribunal recommends to the President that the officer should not be removed from office.
226. (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Constitution, in the exercise of its functions under this Constitution a Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, a Commission may regulate its own procedure and, with the consent of the President or of any Minister designated by the President
26. (1) The Director of Audit shall examine in such manner as he deems necessary the accounts of all accounting officers and principal receivers of revenue and of all persons entrusted with the collection, receipt, custody, issue or payment of public moneys or with the receipt, custody, issue, sale, transfer or delivery of any stamps, securities, stores or any other Government property.
(2) In the conduct of his examination the Director of Audit shall ascertain whether in his opinion -
(a) the accounts have been faithfully and properly kept;
(b) the rules and procedures framed and applied are sufficient to secure effective control on assessment, collection and proper allocation of the revenues;
(c) all money expended and charge to an appropriation account has been applied to the purpose or purposes for which the grants made by Parliament were intended to provide and the expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it, and has been incurred with due regard to the avoidance of waste and extravagance; and
(d) essential records are maintained and the rules and procedures framed and applied are sufficient to safeguard the control of stores and other public property.
27. (1) Notwithstanding section 26, the Director of Audit may, after satisfying himself that the vouchers have been examined and certified as correct by the accounting department, in his discretion and having regard to the character of the departmental examination, in any particular case admit the sums so certified in support of the charges to which they relate without further examination.
(2) Where a voucher has been lost or destroyed, or where an existing voucher is defective in any respect, the Director of Audit, if satisfied with the explanation given by the responsible officer or with other evidence of the transaction, may dispense with the production of a voucher, or in the case of a defective voucher, accept such voucher.
28. (1) For the purpose of the examination of any account the Director of Audit shall be entitled at all reasonable times -
(a) to have access to all books, records, vouchers, documents, returns, cash, stamps, securities, stores or other Government property in the possession of any officer;
(b) to send for and have the custody of any books, accounts, vouchers or papers under the control of any officer relating to or in anywise concerning the public accounts, and to keep such books, accounts, vouchers or papers for such time as he may acquire them;
(c) to call upon any officer for any explanation and information the Director of Audit may require in order to enable him to discharge his duties;
(d) to require any department concerned to furnish him from time to time or at regular periods with accounts of the transactions of such department up to such date as he may specify;
(e) without payment of any fee, to cause search to be made in and extracts to be taken from any book, document or record in any public office;
(f) to summon and examine all persons whom he shall think fit to examine respecting the receipt or expenditure of money of the receipt or issue of any stores affected by this Acct and respecting all other matters and things whatever necessary for the due performance and exercise of the duties and powers vested in him; and if any person summoned as aforesaid is not a public officer he shall be entitled to payment for his attendance as if he were a witness attending a legal proceeding in obedience to a summons issued at the instance of the State;
(g) to lay before the Attorney-General a case in writing as to any question regarding the interpretation of any Act or regulation concerning the powers of the Director of Audit or the discharge of his duties, and the Attorney-General shall give a written opinion on such case.
(2) Any person summoned under subsection (1) (f) who without reasonable excuse makes default in obeying such summons shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of seventy-five dollars or, in default of payment, to imprisonment for one month.
29. (1) There shall be employed in the department of the Director of Audit such number and grades of officers as the National Assembly may, by resolution, direct.
(2) The Director of Audit may authorise any officer of his department to perform on his behalf any of his duties or functions under this Act or any other Act other than the certifying and reporting of accounts for Parliament.
30. If at any time it appears to the Director of Audit that -
(a) any irregularities have occurred in the collection, custody or expenditure of public moneys, or in the accounting for the same; or
(b) any irregularities have occurred in the receipt, custody, issue, sale, transfer or delivery of any stamps, securities, stores, or other Government property, or in the accounting for the same; or
(c) any loss of or damage to Government property has not been duly reported to the Minister,
he shall immediately bring the matter to the notice of the Minister.
31. The Director of Audit shall examine and certify in accordance with the outcome of his examinations the several statements and accounts which are required to be submitted to him in accordance with this Act.
32. The Director of Audit shall report annually as soon as possible and not later than the 30th day of September following the close of each financial year the results of his examinations:
Provided that the Director of Audit may at any time if it appears to him to be desirable, transmit a special report on any matter incidental to his powers an duties under this Act.
33. (1) If the National Assembly or the Minister by resolution so directs, the accounts of any statutory body, being a public authority or other body administering public funds, shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other Act, be audited by the Director of Audit.
(2) The Director of Audit shall report on his examination and audit of the accounts referred to in subsection (1) and shall transmit such report to the appropriate Minister for presentation to the National Assembly:
Provided that the appropriate Minister shall obtain the observations of the statutory body concerned on any matter to which attention has been called by the Director of Audit in his report and such observations shall be presented to the National Assembly with such report.
(3) In the exercise of his duties under this section the Director of Audit may, with the concurrence of the appropriate Minister, authorise any person publicly carrying on the profession of accountant to inspect, examine or audit the books and accounts of any statutory body which the Director of Audit may be required to examine and audit in terms of this section and such person shall report thereon to the Director of Audit in such manner as the Director of Audit may direct.
34. The Director of Audit may, if so requested by the Minister, examine and report to the Minister the results of his examination of the accounts of any public authority or other body administering public funds; and the provisions of subsection (3) of the preceding section shall, mutatis mutandis, apply for the purpose of this section ass they apply for the purpose of the preceding section.
35. In the exercise of his duties under sections 33 and 34 in relation to statutory bodies, public authorities bodies administering public funds and their employees, the Director of Audit shall have like powers as are vested in him for the purpose of examining accounts under section 27 and 28, and section 28 (2) shall have effect accordingly.
36. The authority for expenditure conferred by an Appropriation Act in respect of service during any financial year shall lapse after the close of that year and except as otherwise provided in this Act, unexpended balances of any moneys issued from the Consolidated Fund shall be surrendered to the Consolidated Fund.
37. Whenever moneys are appropriated by Parliament to establish funds for any purpose, unless the Minister otherwise directs, neither the receipts, earnings or accruals of funds so established nor the balance of such funds at the close of each financial year shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund but shall be retained for the purposes of such funds.
38. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, the Minister may, with the concurrence of the Director of Audit, authorise withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund Account of such sums as may be required to repay or adjust amounts erroneously paid into the Consolidated Fund Account.
39. Nothing in this Act shall extend to abridge or alter the rights and powers of the State to control, suspend or prevent the execution of any process or proceedings for recovering money due to the State.
40. Notwithstanding the repeal of the Audit Department Ordinance, any rules or regulations made thereunder and in operation at the commencement of this Act shall, in so far as they are not inconsistent with this Act, continue in operation subject to amendment or revocation by regulations made under this Act.
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT (AMENDMENT) ACT 1993
25th November, 1993
An Act to amend the Financial Administration and Audit Act.
Enacted by the Parliament of Guyana:-
1. This Act, which amends the Financial Administration and Audit Act, may be cited as the Financial Administration and Audit (Amendment) Act 1993.
2. In this Act "Chartered Accountant" has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Guyana Act 1991 and includes a firm of Chartered Accountants.
3. Section 33 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed and the following section substituted therefore -
(a) any statutory body being a public authority or other body administering public funds;
(b) any public corporation, or any corporate or unincorporate body in which the controlling interest vests in the State, or in any agency on behalf of the State, or in any other body established by or under any law for the time being in force or administering public funds or moneys.
shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other Act, be examined and audited by the Auditor General.
(2) The Auditor General shall report on his examination and audit of the accounts of a body referred to in subsection (1) and shall transmit such report to the body concerned and accounts of which have been examined and audited and to the appropriate Minister for presentation to the National Assembly:
Provided that the appropriate Minister shall obtain the observations of the body concerned on any matter to which attention has been called by the Auditor General in his report and such observations shall be presented to the National Assembly with such report.
(3) In the exercise of his duties under this section, the Auditor General may engage the services of a Chartered Accountant publicly carrying on the profession of accountant (hereinafter referred to as Chartered Accountant) and authorise that person to examine and audit the accounts of a body referred to in subsection (1) and such Chartered Accountant shall report thereon to the Auditor General in such manner as the Auditor General may direct.
(4) Where, in accordance with subsection (3), a Chartered Accountant examines and audits the accounts of a body referred to in subsection (1) the procedure set out in the Schedule shall be followed in regard to -
(a) the recruitment and appointment of the Chartered Accountant;
(b) the manner in which the examination and audit shall be conducted;
(c) the acceptance of the report thereof by the Auditor General.
(5) Notwithstanding anything in any other law, where under this section the accounts of a body referred to in subsection (1) have been examined and audited by -
(a) the Auditor General, an audit fee agreed to by the Auditor General and the body concerned;
(b) a Chartered Accountant authorised by the Auditor General, the agreed audit fee,
shall be paid by the body concerned.
(6) The Minister may, on the recommendation of the Auditor General, amend the Schedule."
4. Sections 34 and 35A of the Principal Act are hereby repealed.
5. Section 35 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed and the following section substituted therefore -
35. In the exercise of his duties under section 33 in relation to the bodies referred to in section 33(1) and their employees, the Auditor General, or any Chartered Accountant authorised under section 33(3), shall have powers as are vested in the Auditor General for the purpose of examining and auditing accounts under sections 26, 27 and 28, and section 28 (2) shall have effect accordingly."
6. The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the Schedule hereto as the Schedule thereto.
