A law unto itself?

Of these, 44 are totally owned, seven majority-owned, three less than 50 percent owned and 26 indirectly owned.

By Act No 5 of 1973, the Minister of Finance was incorporated as Corporation Sole. The Corporation Sole is supported by the Investments Division of the Ministry of Finance.

Petrotrin is a wholly-owned company of the Government and is under the direct control of the Minister of Finance, acting as the Corporation Sole. The Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs provides specialised technical analyses and statutory approval for the company’s operations. It also ensures that Petrotrin adheres to government policy guidelines.

A manual for monitoring the performance of State enterprises, outlining the framework for compliance with official Government policy and the monitoring mechanisms to be used in assessing such compliance, was published by the Ministry of Finance in 2011.

Every State enterprise is required to appoint an audit committee to assist in monitoring the financial reports and other financial information provided by the company to the management.

Internal audit reports are to be submitted quarterly to the line minister and to the Investment Division of the Ministry of Finance within 14 days after the end of the quarter. External auditors are appointed at an annual general meeting with the approval of the Corporation Sole.

Annual audited financial statements are to be submitted to the line minister and to the Investment Division of the Ministry of Finance within four months after the end of the financial year to be laid in Parliament and subsequently submitted to the Public Accounts (Enterprises) Committee for its consideration.

Is this being done in a timely manner? The revision of pay to employees of State enterprises falls under the purview of the ministerial committee of Cabinet, as are payment of bonuses, pensions and terminal benefits.

State enterprises are required to publish in the daily newspapers a summary of their audited annual financial statements, within four months following the completion of the financial year, for public information. I am unaware this is being done.

Bonuses are payable on the attainment of a minimum of 80 percent of the approved performance target and after approval from the ministerial committee. Such payments are limited to one month’s salary annually.

Under a newspaper headline of August 4, “Salary Scandal”, it was reported that exorbitant retroactive salary increases were made to a president and vice-presidents of Petrotrin.

This was followed by newspaper reports on August 11 that, in addition, a bonus in excess of $900,000 was paid to a former president of Petrotrin and that $5.575 million in medical bills were paid by the company on behalf of one of its vice-presidents.

Were these salary increases, bonus payments and medical bills payment approved by the line minister and the ministerial committee as required by law? Apparently, the rules as outlined in the State Enterprises Performance Monitoring Manual do not apply to Petrotrin. Not only must these overpayments be recovered, with interest, but the Attorney General must examine the facts with a view to prosecution.

It appears that some boards have usurped the authority of the line minister and of the ministerial committee in awarding their employees substantial salary increases, bonuses etc, without the approval of the minister and committee.

I am therefore surprised by the alleged statement of a Petrotrin attorney that “Petrotrin is required by law to be guided by its board of directors and not by the Ministry of Energy.” How many of the other 80 State enterprises are violating the rules as stipulated in the State Enterpr i s es Performance Moni tor ing Manual?