An audit of accounts reveals serious failures in the financial management of public funds controlled by the former Ministry of Housing and National Insurance, reports the Nassau Guardian in an exclusive front page article.
A Value for Money (VFM) audit of the ministry, contracted by the Office of the Auditor General and conducted by Crown Agents took place in May and June of 2008, but the results have only been made public now.
A VFM audit focuses on efficiency, effectiveness and economy in the use of public resources.
The audit was initiated by the FNM government shortly after they took office in May, 2007 and followed a police investigation into corruption allegations at the ministry in 2007, which was orderd by Neville Wisdom.
The Guardian says the report raises serious concerns related to the performance and management of the housing program over a number of years.
Concerns include findings that some funds meant for the housing program were used for other purposes; external audits did not appear to be available for major accounts in the ministry for many years at a time; and a “vacuum of accountability” existed at the ministry when it came to financial management.
The special accounts referred to in the report operate outside of the normal Public Treasury accounting system.
“There has been an inexplicable failure in the financial management of the two special accounts at the ministry,” said the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Nassau Guardian.
“Account statements and audits do not appear to exist for the two major accounts for any year after 1998. Worryingly, the broader external controls of government also failed to flag this issue for nine years.”
The report noted that one of nthe major accounts was at significant risk for abuse of funds.
It was noted in the report that a copy of the bank statement was requested in order to obtain a current balance of the Mortgage Fund account, but that bank statement was never handed over.
