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Henry McMaster, Governor of South Carolina: "The good news is that no money was lost."
Photo: Sam Wolfe / REUTERS
"It's like you go into your bank and the bank president says: We have a lot of money in our vault, but we just don't know who owns it." That's how Republican Senator Larry Grooms sums up what many accountants and politicians say in his state.
South Carolina has accumulated about $1.8 billion in a bank account over the past decade — but no one knows where the money came from or where it was going. »That doesn't exactly inspire confidence. “But the good news is that no money was lost,” said Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.
It's not the first glitch in the state's accounting system.
The chief auditor resigned last year after it emerged that his office had double-entered funds into college accounts. Apparently this has been the case since a computer system was converted in the 1900s.
A Senate committee has been set up to investigate the new case, chaired by Senator Grooms. An initial insight has already been gained: There is apparently a problem with communication between the treasury and the state auditor's office.
Chief Comptroller Brian Gaines and Treasurer Curtis Loftis are scheduled to testify before the committee next week.
Until the committee's report is ready, the money should remain in the ominous account. "That's a lot of money and there's no reason to rush into spending it," said Governor McMaster.
vet/AP