In one of our previous pieces, we looked at the 2021 Audit report of the government accounts.
In this piece, we do likewise for the 2022 audit report, asking a few questions, mainly about the public debt. The 2022 report was submitted to the Minister of Finance on April 25, 2025.
Regarding the public debt, how could it be that in 2022, the amount recorded to represent the national debt of the country be understated by over $37 million?
The audit report says this: “As reported by the Accountant General in the Statement of Public Debt 2022, the Government’s public debt amounted to $2,066,037,264.79, representing an increase of $226,495,398.59, or 12%, compared to the 2021 debt of $1,839,541,866.20. However, the Public Debt is understated by $37,640,756.68 …”
How can we receive over $37 million in loans, on behalf of citizens of the country, and not properly account for it? Meridian is the computer system used to record and manage government debt. Why are the numbers in this system different from those in the Accountant General’s statement, which apparently is being used to communicate the debt of the country? In other words, all loans received by the government are recorded in Meridian, but somehow, the total amount didn’t match the accountant’s records, to the tune of $37 million, resulting in the debt being understated.
Quoting from the report in one instance: “Further, regarding the variance observed for ALBA Bank/El Fondo, the Debt Unit confirmed the transfer of USD $2,400,000 and USD $6,148,700 to the International Airport Development Company in 2015, as per Loan Agreement FBA-VC-001-2015 IADC. These loans were not included in the Statement of Public Debt for the 2022 financial year.”
“The documentation provided to explicate the variances in the CDB and ALBA balances indicates that Public Debt is understated by at least $29,414,627.10…”
The Accountant General explained it by saying: “The funds from the ALBA loans were sent directly to IADC from ALBA. The Accountant General’s Office cannot record funds that it did not receive.”
The Accountant General’s statement has $394.8 million as an amount owing to the Caribbean Development Bank, while Meridian has $403.3 million. That’s a difference of $8.4 million short on the public debt statement. For ALBA, that difference is $20.9 million short, and the accountant is explaining by saying that they can’t record money on their statement that did not come through them. This money apparently went straight to the International Airport Development Company (IADC). Where was the oversight?
These were just two examples showing the difference between the accountant’s statement and the Meridian system. In some cases, the public debt was overstated; but overall, it was understated by $37 million.
There are more questions we can ask. For example, while $106.5 million in loan was disbursed for the port project in 2022, what “Hotel Development Project” got $20.9 million? Was it the Holiday Inn Express? Also, why the “School Improvement Project” and the “TECHVOC Project” that received close to $12.6 million combined, operating outside of the Smartstream accounting system? How are these monies managed, if they are not included in the government’s accounting system? Is there any correlation to this practice and the length of time it’s taking to repair certain schools?
What about the $6.75 million that was disbursed for the “Modern Court House”? Is this being constructed? These are all part of “external loans disbursed under various projects in the financial year 2022, as documented in Meridian.”
It’s fair to argue that not all the monies borrowed on behalf of the people are going through the proper channels, and if the national debt was understated by $37 million in 2022, what is the case in 2025? Perhaps one of these days we will get these answers if or when this web is detangled.
Observer
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