The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

CONTRACTS for work issued by the National Sports Authority were not transparent and its financial allocation from the government increased by more than $3.3m in the fiscal year containing the May 2017 general election, a newly released auditor general’s report has revealed.

Auditor General Terrance Bastian’s report further uncovered how one company received more than $1m in taxpayer funds, but did not complete any of ten deliverables promised to the NSA.

While the Auditor General’s report did not name any of the companies it referenced, research by Tribune Business reveals that the one which received the $1m despite not performing is global sporting and entertainment giant, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG).

AEG’s management and consultancy deal with the National Sports Authority (NSA) was much-touted by former prime minister Perry Christie, who even suggested the group could bring the Los Angeles Lakers and other sporting teams in which it has an ownership stake to The Bahamas (see today’s Tribune Business for further details). 

During the July 2016-June 2017 fiscal year, the then Christie administration’s allocation for the NSA was $3,912,153.29, the largest it received in five years.

This represented an increase of $3,388,577.87 over the year before when the authority received just $523,575.42.

Before that, in 2014/2015 it received $404,270 and then $212,242 in 2013/2014.

However in the July 2011/June 2013 fiscal period the NSA received $2,114,421. That fiscal period also contained an election.

The audit report, tabled yesterday in the House of Assembly, did not make clear if there were any findings by auditors that substantiated the increase in 2016/2017.

Auditor General Terrance Bastian’s report covered the period July 2011 to December 2017.

The award of contracts further received a scathing review by the Office of the Auditor General. Several contracts came under scrutiny and it was concluded there was no information on file to state how contracts were awarded.

More specifically, there was limited procurement activity recorded and money was doled out but work never completed.

The report looked at 11 separate contracts but none of the companies involved was named in the auditor’s report.

Among the contracts was one for work by an entity named for the purposes of the report ‘Company A’. The auditor said despite the company receiving $467,907.51, all of the deliverables were not met.

The report said: “We noted that Company A had entered into a consultancy agreement with the National Sports Authority in May 22, 2015 for a three-year period ending August 22, 2018 at a fixed fee of $40,000 per month and payable in quarterly instalments.

“The Ministry of Finance made direct payments to the company totalling $467,907.51.

“We further noted that the contract both in terms of specifications and conditions had shortcomings as all of the deliverables were never completed.”

According to the annex of the audit report not one of 10 deliverables was completed.

“We noted that the NSA Board made recommendations to cancel the company’s service contract in a letter dated May 22, 2017.”

This letter would have been sent after the general election, when the Free National Movement assumed office.

“However, the company at this point had already received a total of $1,191,579.91,” the report added.

“We further noted that there was little information on the company and as a result it made it difficult to assess contract management – post award – as an appropriate file was not maintained. The documents that were provided included the contract and invoices from the company. There was no information to show how this company was chosen.”

A second contract was awarded and neither the board nor the executive team seemed to be aware of the engagement, the report noted.

A senior government official on October 8, 2014 signed the contract but there were no documents on file giving approval to pay $193,548.04 other than a copy of an invoice. Additionally, deliverables in the contract were vague and provided no timeline for completion.

In another instance, it was noted a senior government official authorised to sign cheques in the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture was off the island so executives made a decision to have cheques drawn as they were allowed to authorise for amounts up to $50,000.

The company in this case received three cheques in one day on one occasion.

“We noted that the Company H was paid an amount of $1,909,974,11 which covers the period of August 17, 2016 to June 16, 2017,” the report said. “We further noted that the bill payment report indicated three cheques written on the same day to the company.”

Each of the cheques totalled $36,490.57. However no mention was made of the date this was done.

“While executives are allowed to sign cheques up to $50,000, it is felt that management may have over-extended their authority to have the cheques drawn on the same date.”

The report furthered: “If procedures for cheques are not enforced, fraud can occur and go undetected.”

A separate contractor paid $1,030,424.71 did not appear to go out to tender and contract documents were not on file.

“As a result we could not determine if value for money was received.”

There were several other large contracts under similar circumstances.

The report also highlighted that there seemed to be a breakdown in the structure of the NSA’s executive team.

At the time of the audit the post of general manager and human resources manager were vacant. Both persons resigned and other support staff left the organisation for reasons unknown.

While Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Lanisha Rolle said yesterday she was not yet prepared to comment on the findings, the NSA’s management said, according to the report, it implemented procedures to improve documentation, payment approvals and procurement processes.

Additional accounting staff were also being recruited to ensure appropriate staff segregation of duties and manpower.

It said staff capabilities and manpower needs were also being looked at and prioritised.