The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard says the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is examining several audits from the Office of the Auditor General under the administration of Prime Minister Philip "Brave" Davis, saying there are overwhelming concerns about how the government spends, manages, and processes funds.

Mr Pintard, the PAC’s chairman, spoke to reporters yesterday before a private PAC meeting with outgoing auditor general Terrance Bastian and the incoming auditor general.   Mr Pintard said he had sent the government dozens of questions about several unsettled matters, but the government has failed to answer. 

The FNM leader said the PAC was still raising concerns about the Consumer Protection Commission’s new rental space selection process last year. He said there are also concerns about the government’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) $250m loan, Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), and the recently released audit of the 50th CARIFTA Games, which found numerous irregularities.

“We thought it best to look at all of the audited accounts as a pathway to address any concerns we have about how funds are being managed, whether or not the processes in different government ministries are improving to prevent any irregularities,” Mr Pintard said in the House of Assembly.

“We are going this route because we realise that this is not an administration that’s committed to transparency and accountability. The attorney general has previously attempted to put roadblocks in our way. Out of the abundance of caution, we saw to look at the range of reports already written by the Auditor General.”

Regarding BPL, Mr Pintard said funds must be accounted for from BPL’s glide path initiative, which incrementally increased its fuel charge each month to reflect the rising cost of fuel and then gradually decreased it through the end of February 2024.

 “The government also made an illegal loan to BPL, meaning that they must follow the provision both in the Constitution as well as the Financial Transaction Act and the reality is they did not,” he said. “These were funds that they made available, and only when we discovered that they did so that they admitted that they just simply transferred funds to BPL. They have not determined the terms.

Mr Pintard said he has sent an overwhelming number of letters to Mr Davis about loans the government has received or practices of overspending. 

“The auditor general is competent, and under both administrations, he has been a straight shooter and we have had persons on both sides express concerns about his reports, which is a good thing for him because it shows that regardless of who’s in the chair, he’s prepared to do his job,” Mr Pintard said. 

East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson said one of his concerns was a report in 2023 by the auditor general in the House Assembly, where he requested assistance for additional employment. Mr Thompson questioned the government’s progress to fulfill the auditor general’s request.