| – $86B accumulated in debts – Consolidated Fund overdraft could exceed $60BBy Kiana Wilburg With respect to Treasury Bills, Guyana has accumulated over $80B in debt. And the Consolidated Fund could beFormer Auditor General, Anand Goolsarranoverdrawn by as much as $60B.Former Auditor General (AG), Anand Goolsarran in pointing to these startling findings, said that it paints the clear picture that “Guyana has been living beyond its means.”To cement his point, he examined the explanation given by Finance Minister, Winston Jordan for the Consolidated Fund being in heavy overdraft.In an interview with Kaieteur News last month,Jim Thome Indians Jersey, Jordan was making moves to get an understanding of the economy. As he and a special team were still crunching the numbers from some “secret accounts” which functioned under the previous administration, Jordan expressed concerns about the state of the Consolidated Fund.During a meeting with several officials within the Ministry on May 19, last, Jordan said he was told that the Consolidated Fund being in overdraft is due to the behaviour of the Guyana Gold Board and its failure to reimburse the account.“The government doesn’t have the kind of money it needs to pay miners, so it draws from the Consolidated Fund and reimburses it when it sells the gold. But there is the practice of “hedging” (A strategy used in limiting the probability of loss from fluctuations in the prices of commodities) after they collect the gold,NFL Jerseys Outlet, and there are risks involved in that.“And if you aren’t good at it you can lose, in the sense that you are forced to sell for a price far lower than what you bought at. I think it is public knowledge that the board got caught in the fall of the gold prices.“So they might have bought at high prices and may have been hedging, but then the prices collapsed…”Jordan had said that while he believes that the Gold Board has been drawing heavily from the Consolidated Fund hence the state it is in, he will provide a more concrete position when he is informed of the state of affairs of the Gold Board. He had said, too, that he has asked the Accountant General to provide him with some figures in that regard.“What I do know,cheap jerseys nfl wholesale, is that I have been told that the overdraft is due to the fact that gold has not been able to reimburse the Fund as yet, which means that they are probably hedging, and that’s my only explanation without seeing the accounts as yet. But as an economist I can only presume that this is perhaps the case.”However, the Former AG, Anand Goolsarran believes that the Minister was sorely misinformed.Goolsarran explained that there are two bank accounts making up the Consolidated Fund. These are account nos. 400 and 407. He said that the former, ceased to be operational following the introduction of the Integrated Financial Management System in 2004. It was overdrawn by $46.776 billion as at December 31, 2012. This is according to the latest available audited public accounts. It was also not reconciled since 1988.He said that the new Consolidated Fund bank account no. 407 was also found to be overdrawn by $15.389 billion as at 31 December 2012. This gives a total overdraft of $62.165 billion.The former AG added that there were a number of other accounts relating to Ministries and Departments which reflected balances totaling $16.559 billion.“According to the former Auditor General, of the several other special bank accounts held at the Bank of Guyana,Chicago White Sox Jerseys, eleven accounts reflected balances totaling $4.140 billion. These appeared to be funds that were transferrable to the Consolidated Fund,” Goolsarran asserted.He stated, “Taking these into account, and excluding the amount of some $4 billion, the accumulated balance on the Consolidated Fund reflected a deficiency of $45.947 billion as at 31 December 2012. If the transactions for 2013 and 2014 are taken into account, including the unauthorized withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund, the deficiency in the Consolidated Fund could very well exceed $60 billion.”Goolsarran said that the overdraft situation can be traced back to 1992 and earlier periods. But after an examination of the receipts and payments of the Consolidated Fund from 1992 to 2012, the former AG said that it does not indicate any transactions relating to the Guyana Gold Board. He said that it is incorrect to attribute the overdraft to indebtedness by the Board.He said that the evidence suggests that expenditure from the Fund over the years exceeded revenue paid into it. Goolsarran said that for the period 1992 to 2012, the total revenue paid into the Consolidated Fund amounted to $1.643 trillion while expenditure totaled $1.727 trillion, giving a deficiency of $84 billion.The Chartered Accountant said, that it is evident that “we have been living beyond our means for decades only to be rescued by borrowings from the issuing of Treasury Bills which attract additional costs by way of interest charges.”As at December 31, 2012, he pointed out that Guyana’s indebtedness to banks,Authentic NFL Jerseys Wholesale China, institutional investors and individuals in respect of Treasury Bills transactions was $86.552 billion.When Treasury Bills otherwise known as ‘T-Bills’ are bought,China Jerseys Cheap, it simply means that money has been lent to the government. The special bills have a face value, but are sold for less than they are worth. They also have a specified date upon which the face value is repaid.If Guyana has a T-Bill worth $60, it is sold for $50. But by a certain date, $60 is what is repaid. The buyer essentially earns $10 for the investment.Treasury bills are one of the safest forms of investment and are considered risk-free. |
