CO129-246 - Acting Governor Fleming - 1890 [8-9] — Page 560

asked to pass a

supplementary vote

to allow expenditure charged to the vote

1

for being transferred to the Tytan Water Works on which the

expenditure was actually incurred. In

a return supplied by this Department in

November last in compliance with instructions received from the Secretary of State, it appears that

works have been charged against the

main drainage

and

Sanitary

vote which clearly ought not to be thus classified. Now although the Surveyor General is of course primarily responsible for these irregularities, I submit that a qualified Public Works Accountant

should call attention to these and

similar inaccuracies.

After my

arrival I

found complaints were frequently made of the

delay

in obtaining payment for work executed or

goods

supplied, and many accounts

have come in which have been

outstanding for one

or even

two

years, and it is

very difficult in cases to ascertain whether these

accounts have been previously

paid or not. I have taken steps to remedy

these abuses, but I feel

utterly unable successfully to cope with the difficulty without a stronger

and improved system of

staff and

accounts. The system which has hitherto prevailed has been that the Contractor (and nearly all the work of the Department has been done by Contract) should send in his account from time to time. The Officer in charge of the work (too frequently an Overseer) examined

and certified the account. It is then examined by the Assistant Surveyor General who should refer disputed points to the Surveyor General for any ...