Auditor General tables two reports with government; one on fraud and the other on emergency plans

Hanrahan says only 9% of municipalities had a valid plan and only 6% of municipalities tested plans.

While fraud poses a big risk to the accountability of the public sector, the Auditor General has found that more than half of government entities did not complete a risk assessment last year. In her report yesterday, Denise Hanrahan also showed that the Fraud Management Policy set in 2017 was outdated and possible incidents of fraud were not consistently reported, including MUN, NLHealth Services and NLHydro. She has ten recommendations that include updating the policy, a comprehensive and monitored management program, and that all government entities implement it with zero tolerance, as well as provide mandatory training.

The AG tabled a second audit with the House of Assembly yesterday that dealt with whether the Department of Justice and Public Safety effectively managed Municipal Emergency Management Plans and the Provincial Emergency Management Plan.  Hanrahan says both were without current policies and that had been identified in an audit back in 2016. As well, she says there are no current documented policies or procedures for provincial or municipal plans while approved municipal plans were not in good shape. Hanrahan says only 9% of municipalities had a valid plan and only 6% of municipalities tested plans. There were no approved updates to the provincial plan since 2012 and it was also not tested. The AG had ten recommendations for the Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands, which is now responsible for the Emergency Services Branch. Some of them include better documentation on policies, a tracking system, regular contact with municipalities as well as testing. Hanrahan says with respect to plans that deal with managing essential services during an emergency, she recommends accountability for the entire public service to have updated and regularly reviewed policies, as well as and testing.