Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis has strongly rejected accusations of corruption being levelled against the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) in the wake of an auditor general's report which unearthed discrepancies in its handling of state-funded covid19 relief initiatives.
The report, which was released last week and is now a public document, covered the period October 2019 to September 2020.
It said there were discrepancies in several THA divisions with respect to the disbursement of covid19 relief, including food vouchers, hampers and rental assistance.
Dennis said, 'It is unfortunate that some individuals are bent on accusing this administration of malfeasance in public office without even taking the time to ascertain the facts.'
Acknowledging the auditor general's findings that not all established protocol was strictly adhered to for the disbursement of assistance, Dennis said the pandemic's negative impact expedited the need to provide help.
He said, 'Now is not the time to frustrate our people with unnecessary bureaucracy and I am not in agreement with subjecting persons to any interview process to obtain a $500 hamper or voucher."
In its report, the auditor general's department said the Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development received covid19 food hampers and vouchers totalling $658, 430.
But it noted discrepancies with respect to food card releases, managed by the Division of Finance and the Economy.
The report said at the start of the pandemic, an executive council minute, dated March 25, 2020, authorised the purchase of 15,000 food cards for the Emergency Social Assistance Cards Programme at a total cost of $7,866,000, to augment the existing programme.
But it questioned whether the food cards were reaching those most in need, owing to incomplete documentation in some instances.
Progressive Democratic Patriots deputy political leader Farley Augustine on Monday called for the discrepancies to be thoroughly investigated.
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