By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
AN American firm’s forensic audit of the Ministry of Finance is complete, The Tribune understands.
It’s not clear when the audit report by FTI Consulting Global will be released to the public.
In March, Financial Secretary Marlon Johnson told The Nassau Guardian the audit flowed from matters brought to the government’s attention that merited further review.
“I don’t want to get into the details of the specifics of which (administration the audit is focused on), it’s suffice to say that there have been some transactions that upon deep diving review the government determined merited a further review and that audit is ongoing,” he said at the time. Yesterday he said the audit report is being finalised to his knowledge.
Among the matters the audit will be expected to shed light are mysteries surrounding the Gladstone Road Waste Water Treatment Plant which were raised in a previous audit of the Water & Sewerage Corporation.
EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, chronicled how that project remained unfinished despite a 91 percent cost overrun. The firm revealed two unusual payments were ordered for Nassau Island Development over the objections of senior WSC officials. It is not known who approved the payments.
In March, Mr Johnson told The Tribune that the matter was among those under investigation.
Cabinet announced in March 2017 that forensic audits would be conducted into the Urban Renewal programme, the Bank of the Bahamas and the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute. This year, however, press secretary Anthony Newbold admitted the administration’s “verbiage” about this may have been off.
“I don’t know if they will be forensic but there certainly will be audits,” he said.
Forensic audits have been performed into Bahamas Power & Light and the WSC so far. BAMSI is being forensically audited by Pannel, Kerr & Forester International.
The government has been slow to reveal the cost of the audits. BPL Chairwoman Darnell Osbourne revealed that institution’s audit cost $300k. The cost of the WSC audit remains unknown.
Tennyson Wells, chairman of BAMSI’s board, said yesterday his institution has budgeted $80,000 to $100,000 for their forensic audit.
Pannel, Kerr & Foster International began the audit in May. Mr Wells said they initially indicated the audit would take eight to twelve weeks to complete but recently indicated it will take a bit longer.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 6 years, 4 months ago
Millions and millions of dollars have been spent by the Minnis-led FNM government on umpteen different investigations of alleged corruption and fraudulent activities by senior PLP officials in the previous government, yet not one of them will be found guilty and made to serve serious prison time. Throughout the last general election campaign Minnis stated time and time again that the last Christie-led PLP government was by far the most corrupt government the Bahamas has ever had, with millions and millions of dollars of the people's money squandered or not accounted for. Now when the next general election campaign comes around, the PLP led by Brave Davis will be able to assert that Minnis wasted millions and millions of dollars of the people's money on spurious investigations and witch hunts because not a single senior PLP official will have ended up being incarcerated for any crime. Just how stupid and irresponsible can Minnis be?! No matter what scintillating revelations are contained in all of these investigative reports, no senior official in the Christie-led PLP government will be found guilty of criminal conduct that results in having to serve serious prison time. That's the harsh reality of the dimwitted Doc's foolishness.
John 6 years, 4 months ago
Minnis policies so far are discriminatory against poor, working Bahamians and small businesses. And if he doesn't stop listening to some of the financial imbeciles he has appointed, some who have no qualifications in finance and economics, the country will see more Bahamian owned businesses fail and close than probable since the recession started in 2008. Now Marvin Dames wants to appoint a foreign commissioner of prisons. Positions that since 1973, were reserved strictly for Bahamians The people voted the PLP out because they had enough of them and their policies. And unless Minnis can cause substantial funds to be returned to the public treasury and/or persons to receive significant jail time for theft and corruption, the public does not want to continue financing his political witch hunt. Especially after times for Bahamians are getting harder under Bahamians. You cutting everything Bahamian but finding money for a witch hunt that only benefiting politicians..NO!
DDK 6 years, 4 months ago
Where is our accountability? When do The People get to see their books??? If The People actually knew how much this Government (and past Governments) have wasted or spent on themselves they would FINALLY take to the streets. This is a bunch of garbage!
CaptainCoon 6 years, 4 months ago
Just like the PLP blowing money on al these external audits. Once again, baboons wasting our money. Next election we need to #DrainTheSwamp
Alex_Charles 6 years, 4 months ago
Anyone remember when the Christie administration did this after the government's own auditors told them urban renewal was basically a Ponzi scheme? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Giordano 6 years, 4 months ago
Baboons waisting money again? Oh yes.! What a disaster .! Doc pls, why do you betrayed the people who voted for you? People knows,anybody has the right to be stupid but you, doc ? Now,if you reach into the next election,hope not,everything you will say,will be ignored and don't even think about to ever run in any election again. That's why the post of Ministry Of Finance,was delegated because the so obvious ulterior motive,even the pledge at the inauguration exposed clearly, what you'll were set for : To abuse the Public Pulse and deeply endept the nation on detriment of current and future generations. We,the people are formally appealing to all security institutions 'members by reminding each and everyone of them that The Pledge to the allegiance of The Bahamas,is SUPERIOR to ANY OTHER PlEDGE. They must be able to stop the wrongdoing,independently of who is the perpetrator. Is anybody listening?. Pls Attention members of the RBDF and RBPF. You guys don't have to be in complicity with the wrongdoers . Be faithful to the National Pledge. Be on the right side of history. Do it right.! Be enough well informed in order to overthrow the ones who are stealing your human values,tangible and intangible like integrity,accountability,public pulse,education,dignity,transparency and so many more. They are leaving us without nothing.
Socrates 6 years, 4 months ago
because the audit findings have not been disclosed, we don't know yet if it was wasted money. we DO know that as far back as the dope commission of inquiry and Batelco and Bahamasair and now these, nothing useful has come from any of them despite the millions spent.
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