By: Marvin Cato | HGPTV Nightly News
In what has been described as a major cause for concern, the 2024 Auditor General’s Report has exposed widespread wasteful spending, mismanagement, and poor record keeping at the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) — an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for maintaining Guyana’s drainage and irrigation network.
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Vinceroy Jordan, did not mince words as he reacted to the findings, describing the revelations as “confirmation of corruption, incompetence, and theft.”
“It is the confirmation of the high level of corruption, mismanagement, incompetence, and by extension, theft,” Jordan declared.
The performance audit revealed that between 2021 and mid-2024, the NDIA spent a staggering $6.6 billion on maintenance of drainage and irrigation assets, but with little evidence of efficiency or value for money.
Jordan noted that the report validates what the opposition has been warning about for years — that the NDIA operates with severe gaps in oversight, planning, and accountability.
“It’s just the confirmation of what the APNU+AFC coalition has been saying in opposition for the past five years,” he said. “The NDIA remains the most corrupt entity under the Ministry of Agriculture.”
According to the Auditor General’s findings, maintenance costs ballooned from $1.079 billion in 2021 to $2.461 billion in 2023, despite no corresponding increase in performance or measurable improvements in drainage capacity.
“This brings to light that all along, while we were speaking about their irregularities and mismanagement, it is now confirmed that they were engaged in these acts of corruption,” Jordan added.
The report also highlighted deficiencies in asset management, noting that critical records were poorly maintained or missing entirely, and that several key management positions — including Chief Executive Officer, Deputy CEO, Legal Officer, and Manager of Operations — had remained vacant for years, severely undermining oversight and accountability.
“When we speak of incompetence, when one looks at the pump station at Belle Vue, you understand why the Auditor General’s report was so critical of the NDIA,” Jordan said, referencing one of the agency’s most controversial and costly projects.
The Auditor General’s report has intensified calls for urgent administrative reform and an independent investigation into the NDIA’s spending practices, with the opposition maintaining that taxpayers deserve transparency and value for every dollar spent.
