Premier: Auditor’s Action ‘Very Odd’
[Updated with video] Premier and Minister of Finance Paula Cox commented today [Dec.9] on a letter sent by the Auditor General to Speaker of the House of Assembly Stanley Lowe.
The letter was read in full by the Speaker earlier today in the House of Assembly as one of the Announcements by the Speaker. It said:
The Audit Act 1990 requires me to submit my Reports for tabling in the House of Assembly once they have been reviewed by the Audit Committee appointed under Section 5 of the Act.
Due to acknowledged conflicts of interests with certain members of the Committee and the lack of a quorum at a recently convened meeting, the Audit Committee appointed for the period beginning January 1, 2011 has been unable to perform its functions.
Consequently, I have been unable to submit my reports for tabling in the House of Assembly. This has placed me in the untenable position of having to consider acting outside of the legislation in order to report to the House of Assembly and people of Bermuda.
Accordingly, I am therefore requesting that you bring this matter to the attention of the Honourable members of the House of Assembly at the earliest convenience.
Premier Cox told the House of Assembly: “It is very odd that the Auditor General would write prematurely to the Speaker of the House of Assembly without reference to the Chair of the Audit Committee.
“In June 2011, the Auditor General raised an issue of conflict in that work on the preparation of financial statements of Parish Councils was being done by an accounting firm associated with the then Chair of the Committee.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the incumbent Chair stepped down with effect from June 30, 2011. A new Chair was appointed with effect from July 1, 2011.
The Premier continued: “There are no other issues of conflict as the Act is clear that a Government employee may not be appointed to the Committee. The composition of the committee conforms to that stipulation. Further, there are sufficient persons on the committee for the work to proceed.
“My office contacted the Chair of the Committee this morning as a result of the Auditor’s letter and has also advised His Excellency the Governor of the Auditor General’s action. The Chair of the Committee confirmed that the Auditor General had not discussed her proposed action with him prior to sending the letter to the Speaker.
“The Chair did express concern about some members of the Committee not attending after giving a confirmation of attendance. However the Chair remains confident that the Committee will conclude its work so that the audit reports may be finalized as soon as possible.
“It is most unfortunate that the Auditor General’s letter could give the contrary impression.”
Update 6.41pm: A brief interview with the Premier today on the Auditor General’s letter, Cayman Islands and more.
Stop shooting the messenger. Does anything ever get done correctly by the government?
Im with you, but in this case it was the Auditor General that did not go through the proper channels.
Because the accounts STILL aren’t ready for her to audit. Who did they hire, the BIU accounting dept.?
The Auditor General did what she did cuz she was getting the bloody runaround!!!!!!!!!! The PLP are so incompetent that the only way to get results is to drag in the Premier herself. This looks very bad.
Apparently it’s all ways the auditor not following procedure. Remember the last 8 years or so. If the auditor was not politically motivated or racially motivated it certainly was not the government at fault. Please where is the transparency we were promised? I find it very hard to trust political parties in this country.
LOL
No, the auditor general is trying to get to see the accounts that she is entitled to audit.
Shooting the messenger. It is not odd that the Auditor tried to emphasize the fact that the Committee was not doing what it was supposed to do. It is odd that the Premier took so many blah blah words to say “I hate being embarrassed.”
What I find “very odd” Madam Premier is that you, as the Finance Minister, have not torn apart those deals under former Premier, Ewart Browns’ tenure and revealed to the public whether or not there is anything to be suspicious of.
What I find “very odd” is your refusal to give the Auditor General the power to do just that.
What I find “very odd” is your constant speeches of Government transparency and testicular fortitude yet you refuse to address this matter head on.
As a taxpayer, I want to know who benefitted from the millions of dollars that was spent by this Government on all of the construction projects.
What I find “very odd” is that you will not reveal to the tax payers where the tax dollars ended up.
That’s what I find “very odd”. I am fully behind the Auditor General in her attempt to being real TRANSPARENCY into the dealings of this Government.
The Premier cannot give the Auditor General any power. The Auditor General is appointed by the Governor and that is who she answers to, not the Premier. You keep on talking about millions of dollars spent by this Government, yet if you were to read the Auditor General’s reports, the Reports of the Public Accounts Committee and others reports produced by this government, you would see who benefitted from the millions of dollars spent by this Government – we the taxpayers, which by the way includes all Members of Parliament (UBP, OBA and PLP).
Or the “Blind Trusts” that were set up just in time for the contracts………………….
LOL
LaVerne, the question “who benefitted from these contacts” does not mean ‘who can use the buildings’. It means who financially benfitted. And was it legal. As well you know.
Oh yes, we’ve all benefited so greatly by spending all that extra money on docks, TCD buildings, useless TCD contracts, Global Hue awards, Beyonce concerts, over budget police buildings, fancy offices for the police brass rented from …. oh wait … you won’t tell us who owns that building will you.
The list of waste goes on and on, even more than you and Paula go on and on.
The tourism minister said he would continue”the “love fest ” in February !!! this charade has not made any money ..and the new minister is all about numbers.. so why would he make us tax payers pay for this ?
So how about all of those who benefited from no-bid contracts and massive overruns at our expense? How does the taxpayer benefit from this?
Speaking of benefits, why has the lion’s share of BIU revenue over the last four (reporting) years been spent on Officer Salaries and ‘other expenses of Management’ as follows:
2009: $3,146,017 (88.4% of total expenses)
2008: $2,966,462 (90.8%)
2007: $2,731,351 (88.5%)
2006: $2,744,545 (88.9%)
Total: $11,588,375
While the hard-working members have received meager benefits as follows:
2009: $22,175 (0.6% of total expenses)
2008: $21,987 (0.6%)
2007: $23,384 (0.8%)
2006: $50,472 (1.6%)
Total: $118,018
The difference equate to a 99 times multiple. Talk about living off the backs of others.
Why don’t you give the BIU President a call and ask him to answer your question? Tell me how you would want to see BIU members benefit, other than being represented at the bargaining table. It really irritates you that an organisation such as the BIU is doing well doesn’t it?
Ooh touched a nerve methinks…
I would want to see the members benefit financially. Can we get some clarity as to what (or who) you mean, when you say “the organization is doing well”? By “organization”, you mean:
A) the individual members or
B) the officers of the BIU ?
“Doing well”? Is that what you call it when an organisation is almost bankrupt?
No need as the numbers speak for themselves. The equivalent of 1% (a paltry sum) of BIU salaries is spent on actual member benefits. I mean why even offer member benefits when virtually none are paid out? Talk about financial slavery.
To reflect the reality of the present the union motto should really be changed from “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” to “We Got Paid, You Got Played”
If you honestly think massively diminishing cash flows are reflective of an organisation doing well you’re kidding yourself and your members (but you probably already know that and this is just another example of spin to deflect attention from a failing organisation).
After All if things are really so rosy why not decrease the weekly member contributions?
If it wasn’t for the taxpayer (not Dr Ewart ‘OPM’ Brown) the Union would have ceased to exist in its present antiquated, inflexible form. Sadly the BIU Executive squandered a second chance to reinvent and reinvigorate the Union into a modern, progressive and meaningful community stakeholder and this inability to adapt to current market & social forces will ultimately be the harbinger of its own demise.
PLP – taking more and leaving taxpayers with less since 1998.
I agree LaVerne, without that spending we wouldn’t have the new TCD, the new Berkeley the new Dockyard Pier, reliable fast ferries, future care as well as working buses!
You’re too funny!!!
Future care is just great,the bus situation is fantastic and the ferries are so reliable…and the dockyard pier is in great shape … give me a break Lavern.
Ms. Furbert, i do know that the Governor appoints the Auditor General. However, is it not the case that the Government (not governor) passes legislation in Bemuda? That being the case, the only thing preventing the Auditor General from “following the dollar” on all of these shady deals is the fact that she doesn’t have the authority to do so because this Government has not passed the legislation allowing her exactly that.
As a side, the report that are published does not account for who the end beneficiaries are in terms of dollars. Whether or not the public got value for money, given the amount spent, is another discussion but I’ll tell that that I am of the opinion that the answer to that question is no.
One last thing, I will continue to bring it up until I get a satisfactory answer. We deserve transparency and accountability. This should be an issue though as this is what the PLP is all about right?
I now see why you are ex Senator. What are the benefits loss of jobs, confusion in government finances as they seek to closed the doors that your party , broke off the hinges. In order for the Auditor General to do such she must have been forced into an untenable position. Your statement should be to your colleagues end the cronyism and kickbacks also humble yourself, else suffer the fate of Walter Rabain and yourself.
What I find refreshing is that the Auditor General didn’t just ‘settle’ – she does what she has to do to get what she needs, on behalf of those she serves… us, the Bermudian citizens.
You are right about this Kim! If only the elected members of Government were diligently working towards similar goals of actually serving those who they are meant to represent.
Laverne please stop trying to justify! Both auditor generals have had constant problems with this government and you know that! We guess it’s always their fault! The real truth will come out!
No more excuses please…
All Auditor Generals (in Bermuda and elsewhere) are there to serve the people. Look at the Autitor Generals’ report prior to 1998 and see if you see any similaries, especially when it comes to Parish Councils. Larry Dennis was not the first Auditor General in Bermuda you know. As I suggested, go back and read the other reports prior to 1998.
And by contrast the PLP Government is here to serve itself and related friends and family.
Please go away…did they not fire you from the Senate…
laverne your nasty
Lavern why do you think you got fired from the senate ?
yaaawnnn…borrrring…this is news!…someone should tell the Auditor General to stop wasting time and our money and start issueing some actual useful information! tell her to grow up and move on from her her personal vendettas from school days and start to issue some press releases that are actually meaningful..she seems to be getting about as much done as the PLP ministers..her and Laverne make a good pair
… Coming to you live from Bermuda’s weird zone of alternate reality …
LOL !
Thank you. Finally someone who sees through her actions. It is all personal and those of us who grew up with and around her know that. She can investigate to her heart’s content, that is fine with me, but right now it seems she can’t pull herself away from certain things when there’s lots out there to look into.
What exactly would you have her look into that she isn’t looking into?
Sure,let’s pretend there’s more than Tourism and Transport in Government. Pick a ministry, department, grant recipient, contract, construction project,service provider not connected to the former Ministry of Tourism and Transport and then some of us might be convinced it’s not personal. Until then, it is what it is. BerNews kindly edited my previous comment, which is fine. For completness it dealt with the “why” I think the Auditor is doing what she’s doing.
Where there’s smoke there’s fire.
If the vast majority of the shady deals emanate from the Tourism and Transport Ministry (and they do), rightfully she is focusing on those. You would rather she spent her energy on less critical things?
What shady deals would you have her look at outside of the Ministry of Tourism and Transport? I am genuinely asking.
That is bait I will not take, but just because the media’s focus is/was on the dealings of that one area cannot mean that the other 10 ministries are squeaky clean or don’t need some oversight. On the flip side, if her department is doing other things then why readest we not about them? Could it be that they involve other people who are not “targets”? All sorts of sole source contracts are awarded to all sorts of people but only those contracts from a certain area attract the attention of the media and therefore her attention. I am no conspiracy theorist, but to quote a blogger above “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”.
In earnest, that is not bait. I am genuinely looking for you to provide something that I may have missed. Could it be that you can’t think of anything else worthy of an investigation over the debacles that came out of the Ministry of Transport and Tourism under E.Browns tenure?
I certainly can’t. If that be the case, then her focus is where it ought to be.
Much like many other government ministers that have axes to grind. Maybe she figured the only way to get through is to play the PLP game. Don’t follow proper protocol, do things that don’t make any sense, and lastly things can always be done in an unethical but not illegal manner. That about covers it.
In order to issue useful information, she first needs to make certain she has all her facts straight, otherwise folks like the ones on this post will pull her to shreds – as has already started.
I like it that Mrs. Matthews moves as an auditor should -no press releases until all the information is in and scrutinized.
Further, she didn’t issue this press release, the Premier did. Talk about trying to score political points – or rather trying to put a positive spin on a potentially negative issue, that we wouldn’t have known about at all if she hadn’t said something in the first place.
Wake up. The Speaker of the House read her entire letter at 10am this morning to the House and the country. She fired the first shot in this one. And facts have nothing to do with her reports; it’s her opinion which because of her profession, qualifications and method of appointment means more than yours or mine. So she gets to say something is a cost overrun or is an overspend no matter what the numbers or explanation might say. Its called “being independent” these days. i call it convenient fiction.
Dee Auditor General should stop wasting err time and our dolla billz issuing useless press releases and letters. Give us something interesting! what has she bin doing for the past couple years other than blame her own inaction on other people. She should step down as AG and join the PLP or go retire with her good friend Laverne Furby.
What I find very odd is that the Premier hasn’t appeared to have read the Audit Act prior to making her comments.
If this is a special report, then the Audit Committee should play no role (see section 13).
If this is an annual report which is being held up by sub-reports relating to the parish councils, then the Auditor-General is obligated to write to the Speaker by November 30 when an annual report can’t be made available by that date (see section 10).
Now come along Rich. The Premier is a lawyer so she has no need to refer to such mundane issues as the Law, or Acts passed by the House. These are for the obedience of the population, not apparently the law makers who are above and beyond the law. Where have you been the last 13 years? This is the New Bermuda.
Heather has the backing of our Governor on this one .
@ Pepper
Remember that the Governor ‘has the Premier’s back also’, based on recent comments he made when the PLP improved governance controls with recent legislation.
PLP people have issues with each auditor general. It’s always the AG’s fault. That’s so funny…. Before Larry had an axe to grind now heather has an axe up grind!! Hmmmm you and your crew are hopeless!
Unfortunately for the Government, they cannot treat Ms.Matthews as they did Mr.Dennis.
Now they are trying a different approach to discredit her!
Where is Mr Dennis ? he needs to come out and tell us what happened to him.
Excellent interview Premier Cox, I listen carefully and you made some very key points and informative statements. There is a high quality of people that serve on the Audit Committee, and with that there is nothing negative or sinister going on. The Auditor General failed to follow the correct process, and yet requires that everyone else does. The Auditor General actions are a real insult to these persons who have high integrity on the Audit Committee. It may have been the Auditor General’s intent to give the contrary impression that all is not well with the Audit Committee.” If so she is beginning to act in the same negative fashion as Mr.Larry Dennis, which does not work in best interest of Bermuda. As some persons that do not have the full details and understanding of the procedures and protocol will jump up and down and say it is sinister. Despite the fact they do not have a full understanding of what actually did occur. As these kinds of persons seek out only something negative to put down the political party they do not support, regardless. I know this is “silly season”, but please let’s follow the rules, and be fair to all involved. I expect high performance from the Auditor General and nothing less.
Betty, give it a rest. You are dull.
Do you expect the ruling party to follow the rules as well? Or do you make exceptions for them?
What is not in the best interest of Bermuda is the wastage and blatant disregard of the people who elected these myopic politicians. Time for a politician to spend time at Westgate.
“There is a high quality of people that serve on the Audit Committee, and with that there is nothing negative or sinister going on.”
If they’re truly so good why are they not operating in a timely fashion? They couldn’t even form a quorum at the most recent meeting.
“Despite the fact they do not have a full understanding of what actually did occur.”
Oh do tell if you’re so switched on and connected.
Are you actually defending the PLP’s continued attempts to subvert transparency by delaying the release of the AG’s reports to the public? Do you even understand proper protocol or are you just regurgitating the party line, spoon fed to their paid operatives?
Interesting that you expect “high performance” from the AG but embrace incompetency and inefficiency from the PLP Government. Total hypocrisy – but hardly surprising wherever and whenever your party is concerned.
PLP – Do as I say not as I do, since 1998
Specialgirl4you – you say you expect high performance from the auditor general but why did you not say both parties… Meaning the AG and government – it’s so funny how you criticize her and not mention the government doing it’s part also in your statement. I guess your just another PLP loyalist! PS The truth will come out once the AG submits her report !
Paula,
i guarantee you that in the next 12-18 months you will be calling Heather asking her for a favour to help your administration from toppling.
your constant innocence act is now exposed for who you have become
shame on you
you will regret the comments you made about Heather yesterday
@choices hopefully PLP won’t be ruling and she won’t be Premier by then
All,
Firstly the facts.
If we carefully review the publicly available information, we have been informed that the Auditor General has been delayed in issuing some of her reports because the Audit Committee has not been able to meet in a timely manner to review and provide official comments about her intended reports.
We have also been told that there was at least an appearance of conflict (although not actual) since a firm related to the previous Audit Committee Chairman had conducted some of the accounting work of the Parish Councils (which would subsequently be audited by the Auditor General).
Out of an abundance of caution, a new Chair was appointed, effective July 1. The new chairman then expressed some concern about members of the Committee not attending meetings after confirming their availability to do so. The Auditor General then effectively wrote to the Speaker of the House to express her concerns, if not frustration.
The Premier then commented that it was odd for the Auditor General to write to the Speaker of the House without informing the Audit Committee Chair of her intention to do so, if only as a courtesy.
Opinion
1 – all of the timing etc has been sheer coincidence
2 – Audit Committee members intentionally avoided attending the meetings to thwart the efforts of the Committee
3 – the Auditor General is trying to influence political debate by intentionally timing her comments to the public
Comment
I trust that opinion #1 is correct. If not, we open ourselves to all sorts of conspiracy theories which would be entirely destructive to Bermuda. If either #2 or #3 are even remotely true, we have problems that will be insurmountable in the short term.
I understand that the role of the Audit Committee is to add some professional comment to any intended reports of the Auditor General to avoid the audit reports (given their sensitivity and importance) being the sole opinion of any single indivdual. Therefore, whilst the Auditor General does not take direction from the Committee and can not be fired by them, we at least have a ‘check and balance’ that works to the benefit of Bermuda.
I note that some of the posters have a personal history with the Auditor General but I think any comments about personal vendettas etc are entirely inappropriate. The Auditor General is a well regarded accounting professional with significant public service experience and we should respect that.
It is clearly important for any reports that have been completed by the Auditor General to be released and debated in the public arena. There are some lingering questions about prior capital projects that need to be answered for the benefit of all of us, OBA, PLP, Independants and non voters alike.
Whilst I note we are in the ‘political silly season’, I trust that we will remain constructive with our comments. Lets look forward to the timely release of any reports that have been prepared by our Auditor General.
Maybe the Premier will call the Election now! Before the Auditor General can report to the public, Yes timing!
Why can’t the Audit Committee reschedule their meetings quickly and efficiently if decisions need to be made and comments appended to the AG’s reports. If not today when will the committee meet? Why the delay????
Conflict of interest has been carefully and willfully ignored in Bermuda for a long time. If it is inevitable it should be mitigated and it never transparently is identified.
Dear Madame Premier,
You must be the Mistress of Understatement – all “very odd”…
Very odd indeed, the fact that back in 1998 the incoming PLP Government inherited Government finances with a 250 million dollar surplus in the bank yet now we are
1.25 billion dollars in debt, or in other words you and yours have burnt through 1.5 billion dollars of the people’s money.
Is this all you are capable of coming out with? Or is it that your Government has misunderstood the meaning of double-entry bookkeeping?
While You And The Leaches Enjoy The Feasting Season, Don’t Worry About Sparing A Thought For The Rest of Us, Instead I Suggest You Enjoy What’s Left Because It’s Really Not A Lot – Quite A Legacy This Crony Capitalism From Your So-Called Workers Party. You And Your Cabinet’s Total Incompetence And Arrogance Never Cease To Amaze Me.
Cheers (And Jeers),
James.
Et Tu Randy, oops, I meant Randolf Sir, or is that Sir Randolf?…
@ James
Not sure where your info came from but I do not believe the Bermuda government has ever had $250m surplus in the bank and especialy not in 1998 when the PLP became the government. If you have info to the contrary, please share with us.
The usual debt load carried by Bermuda was typically in the region of $100-150m until the mid-2000′s. So if the current debt is $1.2bn (it’s probably actually a lot more now)… but if it’s $1.2bn, then the government has worsened the national debt by about $1.0bn or so, in the past 5 years.
And what was it spent on? Music festivals, parties, foreign “consultants” who were “friendly” with the then Premier and his wife, things like Faith Based Tourism, luxury trips to China and the middle east, unexplained cost overruns, hundreds of government cars. Cox was looking the other way, and we were mortgaging our grandchildren’s future to pay for a good time.
all meaningful financial data will be withheld as long as possible so that the ignorant sheeple have no clue as to how they are being fleeced…….