Bermuda taxpayers who are suffering from financial problems should spend a few hours reading the 305 pages of the Auditor-General’s report on the consolidated fund of the Government of Bermuda for the financial years 2010 to 2012, together with earlier reports of the previous government.

They will come away sick to the stomach over the way their trust has been betrayed in a scathing indictment of government financial management, and out-of-control spending.

The Royal Gazette in an excellent editorial on November 19, entitled “Financial black hole a downright disgrace” drew attention to a few of the many disgraceful breaches of responsibility and stated that “taxpayers deserve answers over a staggering waste of public money”.

Taxpayers certainly deserve an explanation because they were swindled, but I doubt if they will ever get one — or one that gives the unvarnished truth about the reckless way public finances have been managed and unaccounted for during the period mentioned.

The Auditor-General, Heather Jacobs Matthews, has performed a yeoman service for the Bermuda public and she deserves, before her impending retirement, a huge vote of thanks from voters who have been taken for a ride by people who should know better. She and her predecessor, Larry Dennis, did their duty by identifying the many abuses of power by our so-called leaders, who miserably failed to do their duty of stewardship of taxpayers’ funds.

Unaccountable figures mentioned in the report are of the magnitude of $14 million, $62 million and $18 million, together with countless smaller sums; what this means is that there was minimal management of public finances. Somewhere, somehow, people in positions of responsibility were grossly negligent in handling several million dollars of taxpayer funds.

If that happened in private business, the culprits would be forced to resign or fired immediately and a court case would likely follow. In the surreal world of government finance, no one resigns or gets fired or even reprimanded. And the public are supposed to respect those in public office?

Bermuda voters, especially those who are suffering financial distress, deserve answers, as will, I am sure, the rating agencies such as Standard and Poor’s, who express an opinion on the integrity of public funds to the world’s financial centres.

Any lender to the Bermuda Government must view with horror the prospects of repayment, and any prospective lender must surely say to himself, why take the risk?

Read the report and think about the public’s money improperly applied, which could have been used by young people to, say, put a deposit on a first house, educate children, provide for medical care in old age, and a whole host of necessary things that will never come into being because those accountable made it impossible for such things to happen.

I estimate that each working person has been deprived of about $16,000 during this period, not to mention prior periods going back to 1998.

Even worse, the future has been stolen from many of our children and grandchildren. Nothing is more contemptible than financially abusing children, but that is exactly what has happened by abandoning sound, ethical financial principles.

What is likely to happen now that the financial cat is out of the bag? Exactly nothing — except, perhaps, for a litany of excuses.

Those responsible will begin to circle the wagons, just as they did in the Old West against marauding Indians, and everyone will make nauseating statements about how things will change and how shocked they are to have discovered that so many in public service failed to fulfil their responsibilities.

Pious statements will be issued from on high to the effect that steps will be taken to make sure that nothing such as this will ever happen again, and that those who should know better will institute processes and procedures that will make it impossible for the Bermuda taxpayers to be plundered. Marc Bean, the Leader of the Opposition, has already started the process by stating that the Progressive Labour Party will institute reforms.

Many people of understanding will nod their heads and say amen and collectively will go to sleep confident that the authorities have seen the error of their ways, and have turned over a new leaf. Some cosmetic changes will be made, a couple of heads may roll, and many will beat their breasts and say how sorry they are.

These matters are of grave public concern and, therefore, the Government and Governor (British Government) with the help of other international agencies should seek to proceed immediately with a view of bringing these issues before the courts so that a judicial process can determine the findings of the Auditor-General.

• Robert Stewart is the author of two books on the Bermuda economy and a director at several local companies and investment funds