AN audit of government ministries and agencies has uncovered millions of dollars in financial irregularities across the public sector, including $23 million in unaccounted funds and more than $185 million in salary overpayments within the education ministry, according to a report tabled in the House of Representatives last Thursday.

The findings are contained in the Government of Jamaica Audit Committees’ Annual Report FY2024/25, prepared by the Internal Audit Directorate (IAD) in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, which provides a snapshot of governance and financial management issues identified across ministries, departments, and agencies during the 2024/2025 financial year.

The report highlights significant weaknesses in the Ministry of Education, Youth, Skills, and Information during that year, where internal auditors identified large salary overpayments stemming from payroll and administrative control failures linked to salary restructuring, along with millions of dollars in funds that could not be accounted for.

Additionally, auditors found $21.03 million in payments that were processed without adequate supporting documentation, raising concerns about how financial transactions were being approved and monitored within the ministry’s operations.

The audit committees said the problems point to systemic weaknesses in internal controls, particularly in areas such as cash management, procurement procedures, asset management, and supervisory oversight. They recommended that senior management take urgent steps to strengthen these systems and ensure proper monitoring of public funds.

The report also identifies financial management concerns in other government entities.

Within the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, which is now the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development, auditors reported that $99.28 million in final project expenditure could not be verified, while $50.43 million had been spent on projects that remained incomplete. The report also cited weak project and contract management, which resulted in project delays, cost overruns, and unexpended project funds exceeding $136 million.

Additionally, the auditors noted that payments totalling $69 million were processed without verification, while reimbursements and training expenses were made without adequate supporting documentation.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance and Public Service was flagged for weaknesses in its management of Government assets. Internal auditors identified $91.9 million in information technology equipment and furniture that had not been properly recorded, with inconsistencies and multiple errors found in manual asset registers.

The report also raised concerns about IT [information technology] disaster recovery and business continuity arrangements, warning that existing storage and backup procedures did not meet global standards and could pose risks to government operations.

Elsewhere, the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport recorded salary overpayments totalling $1.35 million, which auditors said should be recovered.

Similarly, the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) was found to have made overpayments amounting to $2.6 million, while also recording short payments totalling $2 million, further highlighting payroll management issues within parts of the public sector.

Government audit committees are a part of Jamaica’s public sector accountability system and operate under the Financial Administration and Audit (FAA) Act.

They are established within ministries, departments, and agencies to provide independent oversight of financial management and internal control systems.

The Internal Audit Directorate, which monitors the committees across government, compiles their findings into an annual report that is submitted to the Ministry of Finance and subsequently tabled in Parliament.

According to the report, the issues identified across multiple ministries underscore ongoing challenges in financial management across the public sector, particularly in relation to payroll administration, project oversight, documentation of financial transactions, and asset tracking.

The ministry paper accompanying the report indicates that the issues identified are part of wider governance weaknesses across several Government entities, noting that internal control breaches and non-compliance with financial guidelines have resulted in salary overpayments exceeding $200 million and project overruns of more than $136 million across ministries, departments, and agencies.

The report also raised concern about how quickly ministries respond to audit findings, noting that the timeliness of management responses declined to 33 per cent in the 2024/2025 financial year, down from 52 per cent the previous year.

The Internal Audit Directorate said continued follow-up with senior management will be necessary to ensure that corrective measures are implemented and weaknesses identified by internal auditors are properly addressed.