OPA expects closure of more recommendations

Intensified efforts by the administration of Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to improve the delivery of government services have raised hopes that more delinquent recommendations issued by the Office of the Public Auditor will see closure in the next months.

This, as the Interagency Audit Coordinating Group has scheduled regular meetings with the OPA and government agencies who are yet to institute actions that would address the problems identified by the Public Auditor in its reports.

Public Auditor Leo L. LaMotte said regular meetings held with the Department of Public Safety through the assistance of the Coordinating Group beginning September this year have resulted in the closure of a big slice of delinquent recommendations.

A report on CNMI government agencies’ implementation of audit recommendations by end-June 2000 has already included the suggestions that have been closed by DPS resulting from the regular meetings facilitated by the Coordinating Group.

According to Mr. LaMotte, results of the regular meeting held last month will be considered in the next OPA report on outstanding recommendations which will be released by the end of the calendar year.

“We appreciate the actions taken by the Coordinating Group to assist OPA in the follow-up on the actions taken by various government agencies to address the outstanding audit recommendations,” said Mr. LaMotte.

During the early part of 1999, the governor appointed Finance Secretary Lucy Nielsen as chair of the Coordinating Group along with Commerce Secretary Frankie Villanueva as member, in increased efforts to help pursue closure of open and resolved recommendations.

OPA disclosed that about 82 percent of all recommendations issued as of end-June 1999 are considered delinquents because of the respective government agencies’ failure to install immediate solutions.

A report released Monday revealed that OPA has issued 34 recommendations in the first half of the calendar year, which add up to the existing 194 suggestions that were yet to be acted upon by offices that were subjected to audit investigations.

Only 42 of the 228 recommendations issued by end-June 2000 were considered closed while 186 remain open, awaiting action from concerned government agencies, according to Mr. LaMotte in a letter to the Coordinating Group.

Mr. LaMotte said 159 of the 186 open recommendations are now considered delinquent since concerned agencies fail to take action within the 180-day grace period.

He explained that recommendations are considered delinquent if these remain outstanding for 180 days and OPA has not been informed of any action being taken to close the case.

The OPA report also noted that 31 of the 159 delinquent recommendations were issued between 1999 and 2000, while 128 were issued during the years covering 1994-1998.

The increasing number of delinquent recommendations had prompted OPA to urge the governor to assign an official from the government who will pursue the closure of open and resolved recommendations.

In 1999, the number of delinquent recommendations issued by OPA soared 18 percent to 181 from the previous year’s 153, indicating several government agencies’ apparent neglect in taking prompt action to address financial loopholes.