The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Digital Editor

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has yet to find clear records showing who received vouchers under a government-funded programme involving more than $1.5m in taxpayer money, how recipients qualified or who authorised the payments, Opposition leader Michael Pintard revealed yesterday.

Mr Pintard said testimony and documents obtained during the committee's investigation also raised concerns that private individuals and political party members may have exercised control over public resources without holding official government positions.

He said the evidence suggested the programme operated through an informal arrangement outside normal government processes, with no clear qualifying rules, publicly advertised application process or adequate paper trail linking vouchers to eligible recipients.

"So far, the Committee has not seen clear qualifying rules explaining who was entitled to receive a voucher," Mr Pintard said.

"We have not seen evidence of an open and advertised process through which all eligible members of the public could apply. And we have not seen a proper paper trail connecting individual vouchers to specific people who qualified to receive them."

He said the committee was examining how private individuals and political party members came to exercise control over taxpayer money, what legal authority permitted their involvement and whether any funds were used for private or political purposes.

"In simple terms, there appear so far to be no formal records showing who received the vouchers, why they qualified, who approved them and how the vouchers were tracked," he said. "Another major concern is the level of involvement of private individuals and members of political parties. The testimony and documentary evidence suggest that private actors, with no official government role or responsibility, may in some cases have exercised operational control over public resources."

The PAC has heard testimony from several senior government officials and people connected to the programme, including Financial Secretary Simon Wilson, former senior adviser to the Prime Minister Jerome Fitzgerald, Ministry of Finance consultant John Nixon and Director of Public Procurement Carl Oliver.

Ministry of Finance officer Dwayne Ellis and Deputy Comptroller of Customs Whitney Kenny have also appeared before the committee.

At least five vendors from New Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco have given testimony, while the PAC has obtained payment records, correspondence and other supporting documents.

Mr Pintard said the evidence received so far raised serious concerns about the programme's management and the level of accountability exercised over public funds.

He said officials interviewed by the committee had not provided evidence demonstrating that the programme was administered with adequate transparency, fairness or safeguards for taxpayers.

"We are looking at a programme involving more than one million dollars in taxpayer funds," Mr Pintard said.

"Yet the evidence so far suggests that it was operated through an informal arrangement, outside the normal government processes.

“The officials interviewed have not provided the Committee with any indication that the programme was managed with the necessary and proper transparency, accountability, fairness or care for the public's money."

He said the committee was seeking to establish whether public money had been used for legitimate purposes and whether appropriate legal authority existed for those involved in administering the programme.

"The Committee is therefore examining several important questions," he said.

"How did private individuals and political party members come to have control over taxpayer money? What legal authority allowed them to be involved? Were funds used for expressly private or political purposes? And what protections were put in place to safeguard the Bahamian people's money?"

The investigation follows earlier scrutiny of government voucher spending, including reports that more than $1.5m was spent on vouchers ahead of the general election.

Mr Pintard stressed that the committee had not completed its investigation or made any final findings.

He said further work was needed to establish who was responsible for managing the programme and whether established financial controls had been followed.

The PAC expects to complete its main investigative work during October and publish its report by the middle of November.