PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Honourable Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto announced on Tuesday that the operational audit of the Salaries & Wages Department will start soon.
The SOAB will be carrying out the audit and this has been added to their audit plan for 2011.
To determine what the problem may be in the Salaries & Wages Department, in January after a number of challenges experienced, the Minister decided that an operational audit would be necessary to avoid future recurrence of past challenges and late payments and with the end result being that Government provides the best possible service to civil servants.
The audit will look at areas such as whether or not there are up to date work processes in place or if the existing processes require updating, staffing, procedures, and other factors which could influence the functioning of the section.
January is the first month that the payrolls from the former Federal Government departments were combined in the payroll system of the Government of Sint Maarten.
Up until December 31, 2010 the payrolls were implemented by a company which the former Federal Government had contracted to provide payroll services.
The setup of the new payroll per ministry included removing all persons from the payroll and then with the new structure which was made (shifting from the payroll which was set up per department and sector to a payroll per Ministry) specifically to cater to the Ministry model. Each individual employee had to be added to the ministry under which he/she falls.
The Minister added that civil servants could expect their salaries on February 25, as for the most part, all the necessary preparations for payout had almost been completed with the exception of the Ministry of Justice.
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for Police personnel issues including the set-up of scales. Members of the Police Force have separate scales from the rest of the civil service organization. The Minister assured that all efforts are being made for this payroll to also make the February 25 deadline.