The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Insurance Minister Shane Gibson said he is already satisfied in his mind “what course of action we should take” based on the findings of the audit into the National Insurance Board.

“Decisions” made by NIB board members “based on the information (they) had when they were first appointed, seem to be justified,” Mr Gibson said, adding that whether or not suspended NIB director Algernon Cargill will return to his post hinges on recommendations from the Attorney General’s Office, who is still reviewing the report.

While the Public Accounts Committee has announced that not even they have seen the audit, Mr Gibson said the full report will be made public once the AG’s Office is finished analysing it.

“There’s so much information that it’s taken some time really to analyse and assess,” he said.

“But as I said before, it went way beyond where we thought it would go and so we don’t want to make any rushed judgment or decision; we want to think about it carefully. But I can guarantee you one thing, at the end of the day – it will be made public and it’s just a matter of when.”

The minister, however, declined to go into any specifics concerning what exactly is in the report, explaining that he didn’t want to “pre-empt” any decision.

“I don’t want to get into any details,” he said. “The one thing I would say is that decisions that were being made based on information that board members had when they were first appointed, seem to be justified.”

When asked what board member he is referring to, Mr Gibson said that remark is meant “generally speaking.” He also would not say what “decisions” he was referring to.

Speaking about Mr Cargill, who “is on administrative leave with full pay and full benefits,” Mr Gibson said that suspension will come to a close in one of two ways, based on the report.

“As soon as we make a decision based on the recommendations of the AG’s Office, then one of two things will happen,” the minister said. “He will either return to work or he won’t return to work.”

When asked if “won’t return to work” means Mr Cargill will be terminated from his job, Mr Gibson said: “I don’t know that he would be fired; I’m saying I’m not sure, that depends. What happens going forward depends on what we get from the AG’s Office.”

He added: “Basically I am satisfied myself, in my mind, what course of action we should take. Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to say and soon as I am advised by the Attorney General, then, of course, we’ll make our position known.”

Mr Gibson said he is hoping to have a response from the Attorney General by this weekend, but – “just as I didn’t rush the auditors, I won’t rush the AG.”

He explained: “They have not given me a position on it, yet, and so I’m not going to call them and rush them. I just want them to take their time and give me a position – so at the end of the day, it would have been carefully thought-out and not some rushed decision.”

Head of the Public Accounts Committee, Hubert Chipman told The Tribune over the weekend: “It took a very long time for even the accounting firm to issue the report.

“What’s in the report, we are not privy to at this time. We have not seen the report, I don’t even want to speculate what’s in the report.

“The government now has it in its possession. Hopefully once they have gone through it or had the opportunity to go through it – I think it’s at the Cabinet level at this particular time – and hopefully it should be released to the public pretty soon.”

The St Anne’s MP said the committee is “looking forward” to seeing the audit.