Georgetown, Guyana – September 25, 2025 – Guyana’s public purse is once again bleeding from massive over-payments to contractors and suppliers, Auditor General Deodat Sharma has revealed in his latest report, even as he urged tighter controls on how taxpayers’ money is spent.
Sharma on Thursday handed over the 2024 Report on the Public Accounts of Guyana and the Report on the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to the National Assembly, marking the 14th consecutive year he has met the September 30 statutory deadline.
The veteran Auditor General, who has now tabled a record-breaking 21 reports, warned that mismanagement in contracts remains one of the state’s biggest vulnerabilities.
“Understanding contract management helps to determine whether contractors are adhering to the terms of the contract and whether over-payments were made,” Sharma said, pointing to new training programs for engineers and staff across ministries. He revealed that for 2024, auditors flagged numerous over-payments, but stressed that, unlike before, contractors are now being forced to repay.
The report also spotlighted the oil and gas sector, with Sharma cautioning that his office is still understaffed even as Guyana becomes a global petroleum player. “I am now building the Oil and Gas Section,” he told lawmakers, adding that MPs and audit officers have already undergone training through the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation.
Despite chronic problems, Sharma credited ministries with improvements in logbooks, fuel management, and recordkeeping. He also disclosed that his office has moved away from “post-mortem audits” and is now conducting “real-time” audits while projects are underway, a move aimed at stopping financial bleeding before it spirals out of control.
House Speaker Manzoor Nadir hailed the Auditor General’s consistency as a “monumental achievement,” saying the timely reports and performance audits represent “professionalism at the highest level.” But he also conceded that persistent over-payments remain a drag on accountability.
