An Auditor‑General’s report for 2024 has identified $28.5 million in government payments that could not be verified because of delays in processing paperwork at the Ministry for Women, and the ministry’s permanent secretary says most of the money has already been returned to the government consolidated fund. The report was tabled in Parliament last week, prompting officials to move quickly to shore up record‑keeping and public transparency.
Permanent Secretary Selina Kuruleca told media yesterday that thousands of payment vouchers could not be matched to supporting documentation during the audit, creating the $28.5m figure of unverifiable payments. “You may have been paid in January, but the paperwork only got processed in October,” she said, underlining that the problem lay with documentation timing rather than missing cash. “It was really a paperwork issue, not a loss of funds.”
Kuruleca said the bulk of the disputed amounts had already been redeposited into the consolidated fund while the ministry works through the backlog and completes verification. She stopped short of giving a precise breakdown of how much had been returned versus how much remains under review, but reiterated that the ministry’s immediate priority is to establish a full audit trail for all payments flagged by the Auditor‑General.
According to the permanent secretary, the root causes were longstanding reliance on physical records and delays in formally closing accounts. “Delays occurred when accounts weren’t closed promptly. Dragging it out only caused issues,” Kuruleca said, describing how batches of transactions were processed long after the actual payments were made. She also acknowledged the internal strain the backlog caused, noting the situation had led to “a few shouting matches” over the handling and timing of paperwork.
In response, Kuruleca announced an urgent shift toward digital record‑keeping and said the ministry had already begun transitioning to electronic systems designed to ensure payments are recorded and verifiable in a timely manner. She framed the move as critical both for operational efficiency and for meeting the standards required by the Auditor‑General and parliamentary oversight. The ministry did not provide a timeframe for full implementation, but officials said the digital push aims to prevent a repeat of late paperwork processing that undermines auditability.
The Auditor‑General’s findings and the ministry’s confirmation that funds have been returned represent the latest development in parliamentary scrutiny of public financial management. With the report now before MPs, the issue is likely to feature in oversight questions and could prompt wider reviews of payment and record‑keeping practices across other agencies. For the Ministry for Women, Kuruleca said the immediate tests will be completing verification of the thousands of vouchers identified by auditors and demonstrating that the new digital processes deliver faster, more transparent accounting.
For now, Kuruleca’s assurance that the issue was administrative rather than financial theft seeks to reassure beneficiaries and the public that monies are accounted for while reforms are put in place. The Auditor‑General’s 2024 report has acted as a catalyst for change, and the ministry’s next steps will be watched closely as it digitises records and works to close out the remaining verification queries.
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