On 19 December 2019, Trinidad and Tobago Transparency (TTTI) held its 20th Annual General Meeting.

At the meeting, TTTI expressed concern that the full operationalisation of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act was still outstanding and it was almost the end of 2019. The Institute also drew attention to the urgent need for Campaign finance legislation to facilitate disclosure to the voting public and ensure elections on an informed and regulated basis.

Mrs Lorelly Pujadas, Auditor General, in delivering her address entitled: The Role of the Auditor General in combating Corruption in the public sector recognised the importance, value and benefits of an independent Office of Auditor General in providing assurances to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago about the appropriate use of public funds and assets. The Auditor General noted that despite not having investigative powers, the Auditor General’s Department is able to assess whether adequate measures are in place to protect state resources from misuse and to assess whether actions of the Ministries are in compliance with relevant Treasury directives. The expansion of the Office of the Auditor General’s work to include efficiency and effectiveness of government programmes through value for money audits and scrutiny of general controls of Information systems was highlighted. Challenges with the conduct of audits and access to information were identified and discussed.

Elections held at the Annual General Meeting saw the re-election of Board members Mr Dion Abdool as Chair; Mr. Martin Farrell as Vice-Chair; Ms. Susan Gordon, Ms. Ariane Moonsie, Dr. Kamla Mungal, Mrs. Fern Narcis- Scope and Mr. Jason Stedman. Two new members, Mr. Reynold Cooper, Chartered Accountant by profession and former Head of the Public Service and Mrs. Donna Jack-Hill (Accountant – ACCA) were also elected to the Board.