Questions have been raised regarding the payment of millions of dollars from the canteen account of Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) to five of the institution's staff members.
The Auditor General discovered that between May 2018, when the account was opened, and November that year, the CMU paid $3.6 million to the five employees.
According to the Auditor General, some of the payments included benefits that were isolated and the CMU did not receive approval from the Finance Ministry.
Some $2.3 million was paid to the CMU president as reimbursement.
Expense statements without official invoices or bills were reportedly submitted for $2 million.
The Auditor General said despite repeated requests, the CMU failed to provide supporting documentation to substantiate $14.1 million paid from the canteen account during the period May 2018 to January last year.
The audit revealed that more than 50 per cent of the money was paid to an individual who also received $17.6 million from the CMU during April to October 2018 from the Trust Fund account.
A red flag was also raised about the second amount as the Auditor General said there was no evidence to support the payment.
In a response dated August 22 last year, the CMU reportedly stated that the use of the canteen account changed overtime based on the availability of cash flow.
However, the Auditor General said the response was in conflict with the fact that the account was exclusively funded by transfers from other CMU bank accounts and not canteen sales.
The CMU made 52 transfers amounting to $129.5 million between May 2018 and January 2019 from its main bank accounts to the canteen account.
comments powered by Disqus
All feeds
