The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

PARLIAMENT’S spending watchdog yesterday said the governance framework for the 50th CARIFTA Games was “deficient from its inception” with organisers beset by “uncertainty” over who was responsible for key decisions.

The Opposition-controlled Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in a report tabled in Parliament, said the confusion was highlighted when veteran civil servant and permanent secretary, Howard Thompson, who chaired the local organising committee (LOC) for the track and field championships held in The Bahamas during Easter 2023, asserted it had no responsibility for financial matters.

However, he was contradicted by other witnesses appearing before the Committee, who said this lay variously with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, the Games’ executive committee and other officials. Mr Thompson had said financial oversight rested with the management committee.

“One of the recurring themes throughout the inquiry was uncertainty regarding who was responsible for key decisions,” the Committee said. “The clearest example arose in relation to financial oversight. Harrison Thompson, who served as chairman of the Local Organising Committee, testified that the LOC had no responsibility for the financial aspects of the Games and that those matters were handled by the management committee.

“At the same time, other evidence suggested that financial oversight responsibilities rested with the Ministry, executive committee and senior officials. This lack of clarity had practical consequences. When concerns arose regarding procurement, spending, staffing and financial management, it was often difficult to determine who possessed the authority to intervene and who ultimately bore responsibility for the decision.

“The Committee considers this ambiguity to be a significant accountability failure. Publicly funded projects require a governance framework that clearly identifies decision-makers and establishes responsibility for outcomes.”

The Committee’s report identified numerous governance, administrative and procedural missteps and deficiencies relating to the CARIFTA Games’ organisation. It asserted that these weaknesses had even been brought to the attention of Prime Minister Philip Davis KC in the run-up to the track and field championships’ hosting.

“The evidence also established that concerns regarding aspects of the management of the Games were raised at senior levels of Government during the event,” the Committee’s report said. “The evidence demonstrates that concerns were raised repeatedly and reached senior levels of Government, including the responsible minister, and that the Prime Minister was made aware after the Games started.

“While the Committee is unable to determine what specific directions may have followed, the evidence demonstrates that concerns had emerged before the Auditor General's findings became public.” The minister is not identified, but is likely to be Mario Bowleg, current minister of youth and sports.

Referring to both Lynden Maycock, the CARIFTA Games chief executive, and Valerie Smith-Green, the Committee’s report said: “The evidence established that the chief financial officer was responsible for maintaining financial controls, monitoring expenditure and ensuring compliance with procurement procedures.

“However, testimony demonstrated that significant decisions did not always pass through the established financial review process. A particularly important example involved arrangements entered into by the chief executive without prior review by the chief financial officer. The chief financial officer testified that there were occasions when commitments were made and expenditures incurred before the matter came to her attention.

“In such circumstances, financial review became retrospective rather than preventative. This distinction is important. Financial controls are intended to evaluate expenditure before commitments are made. Once commitments have already been entered into, the ability to exercise meaningful oversight is substantially reduced,” the report continued.

“The Committee concluded that the effectiveness of the financial management framework was undermined by the failure to consistently subject major expenditures and commitments to prior financial scrutiny.”

Summing up its findings on financial oversight, the Committee added: “The Committee found significant weaknesses in the financial management framework established for the 50th CARIFTA Games.These weaknesses were not confined to a single transaction or decision. Rather, they reflected a broader failure to maintain effective control over the planning, approval, monitoring and reporting of expenditure.

The Auditor General identified deficiencies relating to procurement, budget management, expenditure approvals and reimbursement arrangements. The testimony received by the Committee generally reinforced those concerns and provided additional context regarding how those weaknesses developed during the planning and execution of the Games.

“The Committee concludes that financial controls did not operate as intended, and that established processes were frequently bypassed, weakened or applied inconsistently.”

The Auditor General’s report on the CARIFTA Games, released in April 2024, found that government spending on the championships was increased by $400,000, to take it from an initial $1m to $1.4m in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. However, even these increases proved woefully insufficient to cover the Government’s ultimate outlays, which came to $6.43m.

The CARIFTA Games Company Ltd, which was incorporated to oversee the event’s planning and hosting, had predicted a modest $42,060 loss but this, in reality, turned out to be 1,972.9 percent greater at $829,821. This resulted in the deficit being some $787,761 higher than expected.

The report shows that the Government, which had already provided some $5.279m in funding through the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, was forced to further dip into the taxpayer well and come up with another $1.151m to cover “outstanding bills” due to Bahamian vendors and event staff. This brought its total CARIFTA spend to $6.43m.

“Based on the financial statements of the CARIFTA Games Company, an unfavourable net income (deficit) of $829,821 was reported,” the Auditor General’s Office said. “Upon analysing these statements, it is evident that total income amounted to $6.615m.

“To ascertain the net income (deficit), the total cost of goods sold ($104,698), the total expense ($4.379m) and total operational expense ($2.961m) was deducted, which resulted in a total of $7.445m. The net income (deficit) is calculated by subtracting $7.445m from $6.615m.”

Due to the $829,821 loss recorded before the Government’s intervention, the Auditor General’s Office urged: “The Local Organising Committee is strongly advised to ensure that its total expenses do not surpass its total income. It is imperative for the organisation to have established effective control measures in place to ensure that any budget deficits remain within pre-determined limits.”

The 50th CARIFTA’s government funding was drawn down in six tranches between November 2022 and April 2023, ranging in size from $500,000 to a high of $1.5m. Even this $5.278m proved insufficient to ensure that the event minimised its loss, the Auditor General’s Office revealed, as more money was needed.

“We have identified that the Local Organising Committee (LOC) acquired additional funding subsequent to the conclusion of the balance sheet reporting period on April 30, 2023, amounting to $1.152m,” the report said.

“Consequently, a total sum of $6.43m was receive from the Government by the end of August 31, 2023. Funds from the subsequent receipt were used to pay the LOC’s outstanding bills to vendors and outstanding salary payments.”

The Bahamian taxpayer’s total CARIFTA outlay was thus more than six times’ greater than the $1m originally budgeted, and over four times’ higher than the $1.4m allocation contained in the 2022-2023 supplementary Budget.