The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) potentially overpaid its 135 staff by almost $100,000 over the ten months to end-July 2020, it was revealed yesterday.

The Auditor General’s Office, in a probe covering the three years to end-June 2021, called on the education facility to explain discrepancies that revealed a collective $95,596 more was paid out to staff over that period than was shown on the payroll spreadsheet.

While BTVI’s bank statements disclosed that $1.271m was paid in total employee salaries for seven months during that timespan, namely October, November and December 2019 and January, March, June and July 2020, its payroll spreadsheet said only a collective $1.176m was due.

“We examined payroll totals for the period of October 15, 2019, through July 30, 2020,” the Auditor General’s Office found. “We observed a difference of $95,597. It is recommended that the Institute provide an explanation for the difference of $95,597.”

No such explanation was forthcoming from BTVI management in response to the findings, with the Auditor General’s Office also raising queries about how donations were handled. It focused on one anonymous $200,000 donation that was received to finance “technical trades training” on Grand Bahama after Hurricane Dorian, which it said was seemingly approved by neither the Ministry of Education or BTVI’s Board.

The educational institute added that the monies were intended to help provide National Centre for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) certified training via a mobile laboratory, and even offered to refund the money of necessary.

BTVI’s response, which appears to have been written by ex-president, Dr Robert Robertson, as the audit was conducted on his watch, admitted it had been “very difficult” to keep the agency’s financial affairs in order due to the high turnover of staff.

“As discussed with the audit team, BTVI has had three chief financial officers in the past six years,” BTVI management wrote. “In fact, for 50 percent of the past six years, that post has been vacant. This fact is material as context to the draft report. Based on this fact, it has been very difficult to maintain the effective functioning of the financial affairs of BTVI.

“My suggestion is that this area (finance) be properly funded and staffed with individuals holding the appropriate credentials and training. Also, as a practical matter, BTVI has increased enrollments substantially with very limited added Budget support (personnel) to support this increased workload. A comprehensive human resources and compensation review has just been completed and it needs to be implemented as quickly as possible.”

The constant churn, and absence, in the chief financial officer post likely played a significant role in BTVI’s non-compliance with legal requirements that its audited financial statements be presented to the minister of education within three months of its financial year-end.

BTVI received $8.103m in taxpayer monies in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. While this was cut to $6.103m in the following two Budget periods, it still receives significant funding from the Public Treasury on which it relies to make ends meet. The Auditor General’s Office found no audited financial statements have been provided since at least 2016.

“The financial statements of BTVI for the year ended 2016 were presented in draft form,” the report said. “In addition, statements for the years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 are unaudited. It is recommended that BTVI management engage the services of an accounting firm to have the financial statements audited, brought up to date and presented to Parliament.”

BTVI’s management, meanwhile, said operations were also handicapped for at least six months because no Board was in place. Yet the BTVI Act that provides the legal basis on which it functions requires a Board be installed. “In some instances, actions pursuant to the suggestions and directions in the report are now underway under the direction of the newly-appointed Board,” management added.

“For example, the report mentions any anonymous donation of $200,000. The Board has directed added information on this donation be secured. For information, the donation was received via a reputable Bahamian law firm. If it is required, the donation can be returned.”

Elsewhere, the Auditor General’s Office found that BTVI paid a company “a one-time fee to initiate a Student Success Collaborative programme” worth $22,500. However, payment was made without the Board’s approval. And discrepancies also emerged over its financial dealings with major investors.

Referring to a December 13, 2017, agreement between BTVI and Freeport Container Port over an engineering apprenticeship initiative, the Auditor General’s Office called for the different figures in various financial reports to be explained. “The detail general ledger and the balance sheet as at June 2019 indicated an amount of $28,000 was received from the company,” the report found.

“However, a copy of the BTVI liabilities report document reflected an amount of $21,000. Additionally, we observed that the profit and loss statement showed an amount of $22,750 spent on the programme at the time of our review.”