Georgetown: Changes are being implemented to prevent abuse of the Treasury by Government ministers and officials. According to Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, officials would have to provide receipts for hotel accommodations whenever they travel overseas. Failure to do so would result in the ministers having to pay 60% of their travel allowance into the treasury. The practice of signing honour statements in lieu of presentation of bills has been halted. "In the past, up to May, before the new Government entered (ministers and officials), could have signed an honour statement saying I spent the money and I have no bills, and the advance would have been cleared. Now, that practice has been stopped, you cannot sign anymore honour statements," Jordan informed the media. He added that, "Contrary to what people believe that we are raiding the treasury and so on, we are tightening up on this particular aspect of travel." The minister also dismissed claims in an article, in the August 7 edition of Guyana Times, where it was reported that a source, close to the Ministry, disclosed that there was an increase of the pocket allowance for Ministers, from US$25 per day to $500 per day. Jordan said that, despite contacting the editor responsible for the article, Michael Young, in an effort to clarify the issue with the ‘politically opposition aligned’ newspaper, the “spurious claim” was repeated on Friday. This, he said, was despite a promise given to him by the editor, to print a statement, clarifying the previously erroneous story. “That particular one made me choke on my coffee, ”Jordan said. He explained that since 1993, the allowances have remained the same, and instead of making changes, the Government will be tightening the leases on allowances. The statements made by the controversial newspaper have also put his staff’ jobs at risk, the Finance Minister noted. “There is no document being considered for any of these increases,” the Minister emphasised, as he described the claims as, bordering on libel as it related to his integrity. The Finance Minister further made it known that while the travel allowances for officials have fixed rates, these have been modified to cater somewhat for various destinations. The documents revealed that while the hotel accommodation allowance for North America, South America and the Caribbean was limited to US$150 per night, there was some leeway as former government officials were permitted to spend more on hotel accommodation. The documents show that Former Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, along with his Chief Planning Officer Clyde Roopchand, were allowed $US355 per night in October 2014, for accommodation when they represented Guyana at an International Monetary Fund Conference. This was cited as an example of how allowances were made for the rates that hotels would either increase or decrease, whether or not it was peak travelling season. It was also explained by the Finance Minister that a significant number of former government ministers and officials are still to clear travel advances with the treasury, some of which are more than a year old. He called on those with outstanding debts to clear their advances or the Accountant General will be taking "drastic measures" against them.
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