The responsibility for the erroneous statement of legal fees laid in Parliament last month lies with the Finance Department of the Office of the Attorney General and permanent secretary Marlene Juman, Attorney General Garvin Nicholas says.
Nicholas made the comment during a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday as Opposition leader Dr Keith Rowley made a call for a forensic audit of the AG's Office, following the release last week which confirmed there was an error in the initial $343 million budget given to Parliament last month.
"The reality is that it was prepared by the Finance Department and the permanent secretary, but it was discovered that it was essentially a human error," Nicholas, who is in Qatar, said.
In March, the AG's office presented a document which gave a detailed breakdown of legal fees during the tenure of former attorney general Anand Ramlogan between 2010 and December 2014.
The fees, which were reported as totalling over $343 million, caused controversy after attorneys named claimed that some of the figures were inaccurate and in some cases represented double payments.
Former AGs Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and John Jeremie also called for a forensic audit to be conducted by the Police Service.
Nicholas ordered a probe into the matter by Juman and the report revealed that some entries were duplicated and others were incorrect to a tune of $30.5 million in duplicated fees.
However, the probe also found that some $80 million in foreign payments for legal fees were also omitted so the actual budget jumped from $343 million to $408 million.
Asked if he intended to take further action, in wake of the calls by Maharaj, Jeremie and Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, who said yesterday a forensic audit of the ministry was necessary, Nicholas said no.
"Based on what was reported and what was further double checked, I don't think it is necessary to take any further action. I understand that it was a human error based on the method used to input the figures," he said.
Nicholas said the next step would be to provide a new report to the Parliament. He said the process for compiling a new report would begin upon his return to T&T next week.
He disregarded the concerns raised by the two former AGs, stating that they were both engaged in political activities.
"What we have sought to do is to be open and transparent in this process.
I find it curious that Jeremie, a man who presided over this office with much less transparency, is asking for clarification," he added.