Auditor General Heather Jacobs Matthews ends her special report on the misuse of public funds with this statement: “In my opinion, this entire situation is deplorable and represents a blatant disregard for the public purse and a lack of transparency and accountability at the most senior levels of Government.“The question to be asked is who will be held accountable the answer is likely no one.”That depressing commentary shows how cynically Government is viewed, despite its avowals to promote transparency and accountability. If nothing else, this needs to end, and end now. As Mrs Jacobs Matthews says, the amounts of money involved in her report are not enormous, at least compared to the millions of dollars that have been wasted elsewhere.The chairman and deputy chairman of the Bermuda Land Development who appointed themselves as consultants paid themselves $160,000. And the taxpayer spent at least $30,000 to fund the libel action brought by former Premier Dr Ewart Brown and Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess against Canadian architect Sam Spagnulo and Government Chief Architect Lawrence Brady. Mr Brady is the brother-in-law of the Editor of this newspaper.But, as Mrs Jacobs Matthews says, what’s shocking is the blatant and deliberate flouting of Government’s own Financial Instructions and the standards expected of public servants. In the case of the BLDC, the directors must have known that hiring their fellow directors as consultants would raise questions of conflict of interest, leaving aside the question of what expertise they brought to the task or just what their $160,000 report said.And in the legal action, was there not one Cabinet Minister who knew there was something intrinsically wrong with the idea that the taxpayer should pay for a private libel suit, which if successful, could see Dr Brown and Mr Burgess earn themselves $4 million in damages?There are further worrying aspects to these cases, in which the cover-up may turn out to be worse than the original act. In the case of the BLDC, the report states that Finance Minister Paula Cox, who was not yet Premier, was not consulted about the consultants as was required under the law. When, as Premier and still as Finance Minister, she determined that there was a conflict of interest and that the money should be returned, she was ignored by the Minister responsible, Mr Burgess, her Deputy Premier.Ms Cox also recommended that the chairman and deputy chairman should resign. They refused and the Public Works Ministry took no action. Then, in February last year, the Works Ministry confirmed the hiring retroactively a shocking repudiation of Ms Cox, both as a BLDC shareholder in her role as Finance Minister and as Premier.Ms Cox finally moved the BLDC from the Works Ministry to the Environment Ministry, after which time, the board was replaced. That Ms Cox had to take this step is an indictment. Why Mr Burgess was not made to resign last year may be explained by the vagaries of PLP internal politics and the fact he is the elected deputy leader of the PLP. But why Ms Cox has now entrusted him with another major Ministry, Transport, defies explanation.Ms Cox is praised for her handling of the BLDC case, but cannot escape criticism in the funding of Dr Brown and Mr Burgess’ legal action. As Finance Minister, she could and should have stopped the misuse of public funds. She did not. Instead, her Government appears to have engaged in continual obstruction of Mrs Jacobs Matthews’ efforts to get to the truth.Ms Cox maintained last night that the decision was justified and in the public interest. But that begs the question of why the Government no longer retains the law firm representing Dr Brown and Mr Burgess. Still, it is the actions of Mr Burgess, who remains unrepentant and accuses Mrs Jacobs Matthews of a witch hunt, that beggar belief.According to the report, he allowed and supported the misuse of public funds in the BLDC, was able to use public funds to pursue a private legal action, flouted the legal rights of his Premier in her role as Finance Minister, and for all of that, remains Deputy Premier and Transport Minister.Mr Burgess should resign from the Cabinet, if only to spare his party the continuing embarrassment of this scandal. If he does not, he should be dismissed either by the Premier or by the party that elected him as deputy leader.Then Bermudians would have some confidence that someone, for once, will be held accountable.