The Auditor General’s scathing report investigating the redevelopment of Port Royal Golf Course under the former government is highly critical of the conduct of the Board of Trustees.

It was the subject of intense scrutiny with the Auditor General citing cost overruns, lack of oversight, and loans authorised without Parliamentary approval. The project, initially budgeted for $4.5 million ended up costing $24 million.

In her report, Heather Jacobs Matthews outlined how the development project was not delegated to the Ministry of Works and Engineering which has the authority and expertise to undertake such projects.

Instead, the Cabinet Office, Ministry of Tourism and Transport and Board of Trustees were responsible for the management. Neither has the expertise or legal authority to do in accordance with Financial Instructions.

Although $24 million went on the project, the Government recorded just $14.9 million as capital assets in the Consolidated Fund records. The $1.4 million spent on the clubhouse was not recorded as capital.

The Government was not authorised to provide further funding until approval was received from Parliament through the budgetary process.

The remaining $9.6 million was recorded as operational expenses in the Consolidated Fund. No rationale was given for splitting costs in this matter, the report said.

Furthermore, on two occasions, major contracts were awarded to companies for which Board of Trustees appeared to have personal interests.

The report suggests that a Board of Trustee member received a commission from a company which was awarded a contract by the Board of Trustees. A Board of Trustee member, who was also an elected Member of Parliament, had an ownership interest in the company.

“We concluded that neither the Board of Trustees nor the Government appropriately managed expenditures for the project,” the report states. “We cannot conclude whether the Board of Trustees used all of the funds it received for the project for the intended purpose.

“Further, we cannot conclude whether it has fully accounted for the money it received because the Board of Trustees has not provided accurate financial reporting including financial statements audited for reliability, completeness and accuracy.

“However, we can conclude that the Government did not appropriately approve all project costs and did not correctly account for capital spending in its accounting records.

“When an entity does not follow the rules and procedures established to control the expenditure of public money, there is a risk that money will be spent for unintended purposes, or spent imprudently, in error or fraudulently.”

• The full report is attached under the heading ‘Related Media’.