(a) Satisfy himself that all moneys that have been appropriated by parliament and disbursed have been applied to the purposes to which they were so appropriated and that the expenditure conforms to the authority that governs it; and

(b) At least once in every year audit and report on the public accounts of Saint Lucia, the accounts of all officers and authorities of the Government, the accounts of all courts of law in Saint Lucia (including any accounts of the Supreme Court maintained in Saint Lucia), the accounts of every Commission established by this Constitution and the accounts of the Parliamentary Commissioner, the Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House.

(3) The Director of Audit and any officer authorised by him shall have access to all books, records, returns, reports and other documents which in his opinion relate to any of the accounts referred to in subsection (2) of this section.

(4) The Director of Audit shall submit every report made by him in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section to the Minister for the time being responsible for finance who shall, not later than seven days after the House first meets after he has received the report, lay it before the House.

(5) If the Minister fails to lay a report before the House in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of this section the Director of Audit shall transmit copies of that report to the Speaker who shall, as soon as practicable, present them to the House.

(6) The Director of Audit shall exercise such other functions in relation to the accounts of the Government or the accounts of other authorities or bodies established by law for public purposes as may be prescribed by or under any law enacted by Parliament.

(7) In the exercise of his functions under subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5) of this section, the Director of Audit shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

Section 90

(1) The Director of Audit shall be appointed by the Governor-General acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission.

(2) If the office of Director of Audit is vacant or if the holder of that office is for any reason unable to exercise the functions of his office, the Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission, may appoint a person to act as Director.

(3) Before tendering advice for the purposes of subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section, the Public Service Commission shall consult the Prime Minister.

(4) A person appointed to act in the office of Director of Audit shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (5), (7), (8) and (9) of this section, cease so to act -

(a) When a person is appointed to hold that office and has assumed the functions thereof or, as the case may be, when the person in whose place he is acting resumes the functions of that office; or

(b) at such earlier time as may be prescribed by the terms of his appointment.

(5) Subject to the provisions of subsection (7) of this section the Director of Audit shall vacate his office when he attains the prescribed age.

(6) A person holding the office of Director of Audit may be removed from office only for inability to exercise the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause) or for misbehaviour and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(7) The Director of Audit shall be removed from office by the Governor-General if the question of his removal from office has been referred to a tribunal appointed under subsection (8) of this section and the tribunal has recommended to the Governor-General that he ought to be removed for inability as aforesaid or for misbehaviour.

(8) If the Prime Minister or the Chairman of the Public Service Commission represents to the Governor-General that the question of removing the Director of Audit under this section ought to be investigated-

(a) The Governor-General shall appoint a tribunal which shall consist of a chairman and not less than two other members selected by the Chief Justice 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 such a court; and

(b) the tribunal shall enquire into the matter and report on the facts thereof to the Governor- General and recommend to him whether the Director ought to be removed under this section.

(9) If the question of removing the Director of Audit has been referred to a tribunal under this section, the Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission, may suspend the Director from the exercise of the functions of his office and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the Governor-General, acting in accordance with such advice as aforesaid, and shall in any case cease to have effect if the tribunal recommends to the Governor-General that the Director should not be removed.

(10) The prescribed age for the purposes of subsection (5) of this section is the age of fifty-five or such other age as may be prescribed by Parliament:

Provided that any law enacted by Parliament, to the extent to which it alters the prescribed age after a person has been appointed to be or to act as Director of Audit, shall not have effect in relation to that person unless he consents that it should have effect.

SAINT LUCIA
Audit Act

No. 26 of 1988

I ASSENT
STANISLAUS JAMES,

Acting Governor-General
10th January, 1989

An act to revise and consolidate, the Law relating to the office of the Director of Audit of Saint Lucia and to provide for matters related or incidental thereto.

[14th January, 1989]

Be it Enacted by the Queen’s Most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the House of Assembly and the Senate of Saint Lucia, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

2. In this Act-

"Constitution" means the Saint Lucia constitution Order, 1978;

"Director of Audit" means the Director of Audit of Saint Lucia appointed pursuant to section 90 of the Constitution;

"Government Company" means

(i) Companies under the control and supervision of Government;

(ii) Companies in which Government holds stock, shares or bonds; or

(iii) Companies or institutions in which Government has a financial interest;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Finance;

"Public Body" means the Government, a Government Ministry, the Governor-General, the Parliament of Saint Lucia, and any person appointed by the Parliament of Saint Lucia under the Constitution.

"Public monies" means:

(i) all revenues or monies raised or received for the purposes of the Government;

(ii) any other monies of funds held, whether temporarily or otherwise, by any public officer in his official capacity either alone or jointly with any other person whether or not that other person is a public officer.

"Public officer" means a person holding or acting in any public office;

"Statutory Body" means any corporation, Company, Board, Commission, Authority or other Body established by or under an Act to provide goods or service to the public and which meets one or more of the following conditions:

(i) all or part of its appropriations for operating purposes are provided under that heading in the budgetary estimates tabled in the Parliament;

(ii) the Cabinet or a Minister appoints at least half of its members or directors;

(iii) at least of its operating expenses are borne directly by the Consolidated Fund or by other funds administered by a public body, or by both at the same time.

3. (1) The Director of Audit shall be appointed pursuant to section 90 of the Constitution .

(2) The Director of Audit shall perform his duties on a full-time basis and shall not, while he holds that office, hold any other office of emolument.

(3) In the exercise of his functions under this act, the Director or Audit shall not be under the control or direction of any other person or authority.

(4) The salary and allowances paid to the holder of the office of the Director of Audit shall be determined and administered as prescribed by section 82 of the Constitution.

5. (1) The Director of Audit is the Auditor of the Public Accounts of Saint Lucia, and as such shall make such examinations and enquires as he considers necessary to enable him to report as required by this Act.

(2) The Public Accounts of Saint Lucia include the Accounts of Public Bodies, Statutory Bodies and Government companies.

(3) The Director of Audit shall examine the several financial statements required by subsection (2) of section 14 of the Finance Act, 1988 to be included in the Public Accounts and any other statement that the Minister may present for audit and shall express his opinion as to whether they present fairly information in accordance with stated accounting policies of the Government and on a basis consistent with that of the preceding year together with any reservations he may have.

6. (1) The Director of Audit shall submit a report at least once a year to the Minister for transmission to the House of Assembly:

(i) on the work of his office; and

(ii) on whether, in carrying on the work of his office in the discharge of his duties, he received all the information, reports and explanations he required.

(2) Each report of the Director of Audit under sub-section (1) shall call attention to anything that he considers to be of significance and of a nature that should be brought to the attention of the House of Assembly, including any cases in which he has observed that:

(i) accounts have not been faithfully and properly maintained or Public Monies have not been fully accounted for or paid, where so required by Law, into the Consolidated Fund;

(ii) essential records have not been maintained or the rules and procedures applied have been insufficient to safeguard and control public property to secure an effective check on the assessment, collection and proper allocation of the revenue and to ensure that expenditure have been made only as authorised;

(iii) Money has been expended without due regard to economy (the acquisition, at the lowest cost and at the appropriate time, of human and material resources in appropriate quantity and quality) or efficiency (the conversion, in the best ratio, of resources into goods and services); or

(iv) Satisfactory procedures have not been established to measure and report on the effectiveness or programmes (the achievement, to the best degree, of the objectives or other intended effects of a programme, an organisation or any activity), where such procedures could appropriately and reasonably be implemented.

7. (1) An Annual Report on the Public Accounts by the Director of Audit to the House of Assembly shall be submitted to the Minister within a period of six months after the close of each financial year and the Minister shall lay each such report forthwith before the House of Assembly after receipt thereof by him or, if the House of Assembly is not sitting, on the first day next thereafter that the House of Assembly is sitting.

(2) If the Minister fails to lay a Report before the House of Assembly in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1), the Director of Audit shall transmit copies of that Report to the Speaker who shall, as soon as practicable, present them to the House of Assembly.

(3) The Minister may by direction in writing addressed to the Director of Audit extend the period within which such Reports shall be transmitted, and any direction so given shall be laid before the House of Assembly forthwith after transmittal to the Director of Audit or, if the House of Assembly is not sitting, on the first day next thereafter that the House of Assembly is sitting.

8. (1) The Director of Audit may, at anytime, submit a Special Report to the Minister on any matter of importance or urgency that, in his opinion, should not be deferred until the presentation of his Annual Report.

(2) The Minister shall lay each such Report before the House of Assembly forthwith after receipt thereof by him.

(3) If the Minister fails to lay a Report before the House of Assembly in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) the Director of Audit shall transmit copies to the Speaker who shall, as soon as practicable, present them to the House of Assembly.

9. Whenever it appears to the Director of Audit that any public Money or other public property has been misappropriated by any person , he shall forthwith report the circumstances of the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Director of Finance.

10. The Director of Audit may, if in his opinion such an assignment does not interfere with his primary responsibilities, whenever the Minister or such officer authorised by him so requests, inquire into and report on any matter relating to the financial affairs of Saint Lucia or to the public property or to inquire into an report on any person or Organisation that has received aid from the Government or in respect of which aid from the Government is sought.

11. The Director of Audit shall exercise such other functions in relation to the accounts of the Government or the accounts of other Bodies, Government Companies or organisations established by law for public purposes as may be prescribed by or under any Law enacted by Parliament.

12. The Director of Audit may advise appropriate officers and employees in the public service of matters discovered in his examinations and, in particular, may draw any such matter to the attention of officers an employees engaged in the conduct of the business of the Minister of Finance.

13. The officers, employees, directors, executive officers and any other persons associated with any Public Body, Statutory Body or Government company shall allow the Director of Audit upon request, to have free access to and make copies of all registers, reports, documents or data in whichever form, relevant to the work of the Director of Audit under the Law and furnish him or a representative designated by him in writing, with any relevant information or explanation which he may require. The section shall prevail over any subsequent general Law or Act to the contrary, unless that Law or Act expressly states that it applies notwithstanding this section .

14. In order to carry out his duties more effectively, the Director of Audit may station in the premises occupied by any Public Body, Statutory Body or Government company any person employed in or by his office and the Public Body, Statutory Body or Government company shall provide the necessary office accommodation for any person so stationed.

15. The Director of Audit shall require every person employed in his office who is to carry out an audit of a Public Body, Statutory Body or Government company pursuant to this Act to comply with any security requirements applicable to, or any Oath of secrecy required to be taken by persons employed in that body, authority or organisation.

16. (1) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of section 5, the Director of Audit shall not be required to audit the books and accounts of a Statutory Body or Government company for which another Auditor is appointed in accordance with provisions of its constituting Act or of the Act that governs it operations and may, in order to fulfill his responsibilities as the Auditor of the accounts of Saint Lucia, rely on the Report of the duly appointed Auditor of the Body or company.

(2) The Auditor of the books and accounts of a Statutory Body or Government company, other than the Director of Audit, must provide to the latter, with dispatch, a copy of:

(i) the Annual Financial Statements of the Body or company;

(ii) his report on these statements; and

(iii) any other report he makes to the Board of Directors, the executive or the management of the Body or company, as the case may be, on his finding and recommendations.

(3) The Auditor mentioned in subsections (1) and (2) shall make available to the Director of Audit, on request, the working papers, and other reports and documents in respect of his Audit as well as any other information and explanation which the Director of Audit may require in respect of that Audit and its results.

(4) When the Director of Audit is of the opinion that the information, explanations, documents and reports provided by the Auditor mentioned in subsection (1) and (2) are insufficient or that additional audit work should be carried out, he may conduct or cause to be conducted such additional audit or investigation as he considers necessary of the books, accounts and operations of the Body or Company.

17. (1) The Director of Audit may request a Statutory Body or Government company to obtain and furnish to him such information and explanations from its present or former directors, officers, employees, agents and auditors or those of any of its subsidiaries as are, in his opinion, necessary to enable him to fulfill his responsibilities as the Auditor of the Accounts of Saint Lucia.

(2) If, in the opinion of the Director of Audit, a Statutory Body or Government company, in response to a request made under subsection (1), fails to provide any or sufficient information or explanation, he may so advise the Minister, who shall thereupon direct the officers of the Body or company to furnish the Director of Audit with such information and explanations and to give him access to those records, documents, books accounts and vouchers of the Body or company or any of its subsidiaries access to which is, in the opinion of the Director of Audit, necessary for him to fulfill his responsibilities as the Auditor of the Accounts of Saint Lucia.

18. The Director of Audit may submit a Special Report to the Minister for transmission to the House of Assembly in the event that amounts provided for his office in the annual estimates submitted to Parliament are, in his opinion, inadequate to enable him to fulfil the responsibilities of his office. The Minister shall lay any such Report before the House of Assembly within seven days of receipt thereof by him or, if the House of Assembly is not sitting, on the first day next thereafter that the House of Assembly is sitting.

19. The Director of Audit may, in writing, authorise one of his deputies or any other member of his senior staff to sign on his behalf any opinion that he is required to give and any Report of the Director of Audit other than the Report on the Annual Financial Statements and the Reports he submits to the Minister for onward transmission to the House of Assembly and any person so signing an Opinion or Report shall indicate beneath his signature, his position in the office of the Director of Audit and the fact that he is signing on behalf of the Director of Audit.

Passed in the House of Assembly this 12th day of December, 1988.

W.ST. CLAIR-DANIEL
Speaker

Passed in the Senate this 20th day of December, 1988.

CHARMAINE GARDNER
Deputy President