The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Satff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

AN officer of the Bahamas Union of Teachers brought a motion during the union’s annual general meeting to reinstate suspended BUT President Belinda Wilson after a forensic audit revealed that more than $100,000 was overpaid to a contractor under her watch.

However, this motion was later overruled.

In a press release, the BUT said following the conclusion of the 69th annual general meeting, an elected officer moved to reinstate the suspended president. However, the motion was ruled out of order by the chair and taken to the delegates for a vote. The delegates ruled the motion out of order and “therefore the suspended president was not reinstated.”

There was also a vote to expel Mrs Wilson for two years, but that motion was defeated.

“The forensic audit on the construction of the Grand Bahama building was presented to the (annual general meeting) and the company Baker Tilly International presented the audit report as factual findings. The factual findings confirmed that numerous double payments were made to the contractor totalling more than $140,000. Overpayment of more than $64,000 was made to the architect/project supervisor,” the release said.

“The executive committee discovered the over-payments, retrieved most of the money from the contractor but overpayment to the architect has not yet been retrieved.

“At the first meeting of the newly installed executive committee, a vote was taken and passed by the newly installed officers for Acting President Zane Lightbourne and Acting Treasurer Terez Conliffe to continue in their positions until the results of the court matter on July 13, 2016.”

Mrs Wilson was suspended indefinitely with half pay last year pending that investigation. She and with another individual were both originally suspended amid allegations that more than $1.1m from the union’s pension and savings account was wrongfully spent.

In a statement released last week, however, Mrs Wilson claimed the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s investigation into the matter has been “conducted and completed” and has “determined that there will be no charges levied against anyone and the case is now closed”.

Mrs Wilson also claimed that the two auditing firms hired by the union, HLB Galanis & Co and Baker Tilly Gomez, which conducted three forensic audits covering the period 2008-2015, found that no money was missing, stolen, or spent for personal reasons, but instead spent “for and on behalf of the BUT and all monies were accessed in accordance with the union’s procedure.”

Mrs Wilson ended the statement by saying she looks “forward to returning to work to continue to serve the teachers throughout the Bahamas from Grand Bahama to Inagua.”