Mistakes have been revealed in Government documents which classed up to 150 charities as ‘delinquent’ for failing to get their accounts in order.

The Registrar General admitted there were errors in a Senate report which listed 98 non-profit organisations as failing to submit their accounts within a year of the fiscal year end, and 149 failing to do so within six months.

The Bank of Bermuda Foundation and Women’s Resource Centre “were listed in error” according to the department.

Registrar General Marlene Christopher told The Royal Gazette: “The Registrar General wishes to apologise to the Bank of Bermuda Foundation and the Women’s Resource Centre for inadvertently including their organisations in the list of delinquent charities provided to the Senate last week.”

She added that during the past week financial returns have been received from: Bermuda Olympic Association, The Bermuda Regiment Charitable Trust, The Coalition for the Protection of Children, Bermuda Bible Society and Hamilton Rotary.

More than a third of Bermuda’s charities were listed as ‘delinquent’ in the Senate report, presented by Sen. Wayne Caines, Junior Minister for Labour and Immigration, in response to a Parliamentary Question by Sen. Gina Spence Farmer, Shadow Minister for Community and Cultural Affairs.

Sen. Spence Farmer asked for the names of registered charities which had failed to submit accounts to the Registrar General within six months and one year of their last financial year, as required by The Charities Act 1978. Mrs. Farmer found her own organisation, Gina Spence Productions in Christ, listed for failing to hand in its accounts one year later. The names of other non-profit organisations associated with members of Parliament also appeared.

Mrs. Farmer is president of the production group, which stages free shows for the elderly, sick, and prison inmates. Yesterday she said her organisation had also been listed by the Registrar General in error.

“We had asked to be taken off the list four years ago as we’re no longer an active charity, so we should never have been on the list,” said Mrs. Farmer.

“When I did call the Registrar’s office they were quite accommodating. We provide free services to prisons and senior citizens and we’ve been doing this for 25 years so I believe our track record speaks for itself.”

Penny Dill, executive director of the Women’s Resource Centre — formerly the Rape Crisis Centre, said her organisation had been listed as failing to file its fiscal records after six months.

Miss. Dill said: “We were upset to find ourselves on this list, because we had filed our statements. We did call the Registrar General’s office and check, and they had in fact not updated their computer to say we had updated the documents.

“It is really annoying to be named as ‘delinquent’ when we got our accounts in on time. We have asked them to send a letter to us saying they received the accounts and that we had completed everything in the right time. They said they’re going to send us a letter to say the error was on their part.”

Miss Dill said: “I think they should just notify the charities which haven’t submitted their accounts to let them know, so they don’t then end up in the paper like this, as I think it can be quite detrimental.”

The Royal Gazette has received several telephone calls from representatives of non-profit organisations wanting to ‘clear’ their name.

Cindy Swan, chairperson of Project Action, said: “Project Action’s financials are accurate and up to date, however we are awaiting our final audited reports — which are not required by the Charity Commission.

“Project Action has taken this additional step to ensure all pertinent information and funds solicited from the community are utilised for our mandated purpose of providing free transportation for seniors and the physically-challenged island-wide.”

Age Concern was listed failing to file its accounts six months later, but the charity said any delay was a result of the rescheduling of its annual general meeting — due to be held on June 5, which then became a public holiday in honour Dame Lois Browne Evans. The AGM has been rescheduled to July 5.

Under Government moves, those charities who now fail to submit their annual accounts on time could have their status revoked.

Chairwoman of the Charity Commission, Sheryl Harney, said: “I think any organisation that doesn’t comply with the Act is an issue, but I wasn’t aware of the numbers as the Registrar General compiles that.”