KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Auditor General’s Department (AuGD) has flagged weaknesses in the oversight of a Government-funded credit card by the Houses of Parliament (HoP), which it said could have led to its misuse.

The findings of the AuGD are presented in a Special Audit Report conducted in relation to the administrative arm of the Parliament, led by Clerk Colleen Lowe.

Auditor General Pamela Monroe-Ellis said it was undertaken after her department received reports of alleged mismanagement at the seat of the country’s legislature. The report was tabled in the House of Representatives last week.

“These deficiencies were due to poor monitoring and absence of required reconciliations, which increased the risk of non-compliance and financial exposures,” said the audit report.

“Our review of the credit card statements for the selected period revealed no transactions of a personal or private nature. We found that HoP appropriately used the credit card for 65 sampled transactions, totalling US$14,279.68,” said the report.

However, the AuGD said the Parliament failed to consistently monitor its credit card and recurrent bank accounts, which resulted in a $28.96 million transfer to its credit card account that went undetected for approximately four months. On January 28, 2025, HoP requested a transfer of the Jamaican equivalent of $181,026.73 to its USD credit card account. Instead, the bank withdrew $28.96 million and credited US$181,026.73 to the account.

The audit found that the Parliament only requested a correction on May 28, 2025, and the bank reversed the erroneous transaction on June 18, 2025. “This delay raised concerns about the effectiveness of the reconciliation of the recurrent bank account and lack of monthly monitoring over the credit card account, as required by FAA Act (Financial Administration and Audit),” the report stated.

The AuGD also said the Parliament provided no evidence that its credit card administrator performed the required monthly reconciliations, despite 40 transactions totalling US$11,377 from February 2025 to May 2025.

Additionally, the Parliament failed to consistently submit quarterly credit card reports to the Accountant General’s Department, breaching FAA Act requirements and submitted only two of the five reports due between October 2023 and June 2025, which were both late. One report was late by three days, the other by 40 days. As of September 30, the remaining three reports were still outstanding, with delays ranging from 302 to 427 working days.

Meanwhile, the special audit report also found that a senior manager at the Houses of Parliament had free use of a Government vehicle, which he parked at his house every night for nearly six months in breach of established policy.

It also raised concerns about the irregular award of a $24 million contract by the Houses of Parliament to renovate the Members’ Lounge, and the procurement of 16 air conditioning units in contravention of Government guidelines.