Clarification by the Permanent Secretary – Office of the Prime Minister Regarding a Forensic Audit of Oil Losses – Petrojam Limited.
KEY POINTS:
- Petrojam is not being asked to undertake a forensic audit or appoint a forensic auditor.
- No Terms of Reference has been finalized or approved by the Prime Minister.
- TOR has to go through a review process involving the OPM, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and other persons or entities as may be determined to have an interest.
As a clarification to discussions at the Public Accounts Committee on January 29, 2019, regarding the planned forensic audit of oil losses at Petrojam Limited, the following should be noted:
Petrojam is not being asked to undertake a forensic audit or appoint a forensic auditor.
Under the Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act, the Minister is empowered to commission a special audit and appoint an auditor or a firm of auditors to carry out such audit, other than the public body’s auditor. The Prime Minister as the Minister with portfolio responsibility for Energy has notified Petrojam of this intent to commission a special forensic audit into the oil losses and to appoint an audit firm to undertake the forensic audit, having regard to his opinion that it is necessary in the interest of the public to do so.
Petrojam has submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) an initial suggested Terms of Reference (TOR) for the audit, however, this TOR has to go through a review process involving the OPM, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and other persons or entities as may be determined to have an interest.
NO TERMS OF REFERENCE HAS BEEN FINALIZED OR APPROVED BY THE PRIME MINISTER.
The selection of the auditor or audit firm will be subject to the applicable procurement guidelines and requirements.
As soon as the Forensic Auditor is appointed, we expect that their work will run parallel to that of the Petrojam Review Commission and where possible feed into the considerations of the Petrojam Review Commission.