The Premier’s Office ran the most expensive Assistance Grants Programme.
An audit into that programme found that of the $22,939,333.07 spent across all of the Assistance Grants Programmes, from January 2019 to May 2022, nearly half of that money, about $10.7 million, was spent by the Premier’s Office alone.
In addition, the Premier was also found to have spent 47 percent of the monies awarded through the House of Assembly’s Assistance Grants Programme, equating to about $4.2 million.
There were 1,064 disbursements made from the Assistance Grants Programme administered by the Premier’s Office. Of those disbursements, 432 transactions were for amounts of $10,000 or more and made up for about $8.2 million of the total expenditure; averaging $18,949.06 each.
The audit found that this large expenditure was characterised by “significant increases in budgetary allotments and expenditure without adequate justification as required by the budget process”.
It noted that while the Premier, as minister for finance, has broad budgetary powers, “the manner in which these increases were derived lacks both transparency and proper justification and may constitute an abuse of ministerial authority”.
While there have been arguments that the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic during the audit period could have necessitated the increases, auditors found it difficult to determine why funding for this programme would be increased rather than channelling funds to the various programmes designated to channel such relief.
Furthermore, the audit noted that the pattern of increases predated the COVID-19 pandemic.