At a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Monday, concerns regarding the procurement of medical supplies by the Regional Administration of Region Five surfaced, shedding light on alarming malpractices that have persisted within the system. This was outlined in detail in the Auditor General’s 2019 report.
However, outgoing Regional Executive Officer (REO), Genevieve Blackman, who assumed her position in 2020, later addressed the issue, emphasizing efforts made during her tenure to implement systems aimed at preventing financial mishandlings. Blackman highlighted a decrease in audit queries as indicative of the efficacy of these measures, citing the Auditor General’s reports for subsequent years.
To buttress her point she said, “Systems were put in place and this is reflective by the Auditor General’s reports for the subsequent years, where he would have noticed that audit queries are fewer in general.”
It must be noted that as the committee delved into the disconcerting discrepancies outlined in the Auditor General’s findings, it was found that the malpractices occurred under the tenure of Blackman’s predecessor, former REO, Ovid Morrison. The malpractices pertained to 33 payment vouchers for drugs and medical supplies, totaling $37.4 million, where the bill date preceded the requisition for purchase date in 31 instances. The PAC had noted that this concerning trend suggested a systemic flaw where supplies were procured before official indication of need from the regional administration.
Moreover, the report unveiled 22 instances, amounting to $22.9 million, where payment vouchers lacked the crucial “paid” stamp, raising red flags over potential duplicate payments and highlighting lapses in financial accountability within the regional administration.
Former REO, Ovid Morrison, faced scrutiny regarding these irregularities but failed to provide satisfactory explanations, citing memory lapses and an inability to recall requests for investigation.
The officials then turned to Blackman for responses during the interrogation, however, she could only furnish a list of instances without offering substantive justifications for the discrepancies.
Blackman has been replaced by the Region’s new REO, Dwayne Adams who was officially appointed as of March, 1 2024. Dwayne was also present during the PAC meeting but it was made clear he would not be able to answer for his predecessors transgressions as he only now assumed his post.
Nevertheless the PAC has maintained that the meeting underscores the urgent need for heightened oversight and stringent measures to address systemic weaknesses within the Region 5 administration.
