Health ministry fails to clear backlog of appropriation accounts before Nov deadline

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has missed another deadline of November 2025 to clear a backlog of appropriation accounts dating back to 2013.

Appropriation accounts spanning the fiscal years 2013-2014 to 2019-2020 with an approved budget of $319.16 billion remain outstanding, preventing the auditor general from reviewing how taxpayers’ money has been spent.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Errol Greene, who took over from Dunstan Bryan in September 2024, informed Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in March 2025 that the reports would be completed and dispatched to the Auditor General’s Department by November 2025.

However, Greene was only able to submit 10 appropriation accounts for the period 2020-2021 to 2024-2025 to the auditor general.

In her annual report which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis said the management of the ministry advised her department that it was actively working to finalise the outstanding financial years from 2013-2014 to 2018-19.

The ministry said it was collaborating with the Accountant General’s Department (AGD) to resolve ongoing challenges.

The Financial Administration and Audit Act (FAA) requires submission of appropriation accounts within four months after the fiscal year.

The auditor general recommended that the management of the ministry should review and strengthen its financial reporting processes to ensure timely preparation and submission of appropriation accounts, evaluate procedural efficiency, and enforce rigorous monitoring for compliance.

The Houses of Parliament were also found wanting with a backlog of appropriation accounts dating back to 2018. According to the annual report, six appropriation accounts with accumulated budgetary allocation of approximately $10.66 billion for financial years 2028-2019 to 2024-2025 remained outstanding.

The non-submission of the appropriation accounts not only breaches the FAA Act, but it also prevents Parliament from effectively monitoring expenditure from the Consolidated Fund.

In her report, Monroe Ellis indicated that the accounting officer submitted four appropriation accounts between March and April 2024.

However, these statements were returned in May 2024 because they were not checked and verified by the chief audit executive as required by Financial Instructions.

Up to the date of this report, the verified appropriation accounts had not been submitted for audit review.

The management of Parliament, led by Clerk to the Houses, Colleen Lowe, subsequently indicated that having regard to the scale and technical complexity of the backlog, Gordon House has initiated steps to engage the services of a suitably qualified external consultant.

The engagement is intended to provide specialised support to reconcile and, where necessary, reconstruct the outstanding appropriation accounts using available primary records and supporting documentation for the periods under review.

Efforts to clear its backlog of appropriation accounts have begun to bear fruit, as the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information has sent 14 of those accounts covering the period 2017-2018 to 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 to 2024-2025 to the auditor general.

The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce was also highlighted for its delay in submitting appropriation accounts.

Up to the time of reporting, the ministry failed to submit eight appropriation accounts for its recurrent and capital heads, covering the fiscal years 2020-2021 and 2022-2023 to 2024-2025, with a cumulative approved budget of $22.2 billion.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com