Auditor General Larry Dennis is investigating how faith-based tourism boss Andre Curtis is contracted to spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars.

Mr. Dennis yesterday said he suspects a list of ten events — provided by under-fire Mr. Curtis to justify being paid $400,000 this year — has been made up.

He has asked to see the contract presented by the Department of Tourism to Mr. Curtis, who is Premier Ewart Brown’s political campaigner for his Warwick South Central constituency.

The Premier and Mr. Curtis both deny allegations Dr. Brown set up faith-based tourism as a means of getting cash to Mr. Curtis as a thank you gesture.

On Monday, Mr. Curtis attempted to silence his critics by producing a list of ten faith-based tourism events which he said he had set up for 2007-08.

According to a draft contract received by The Royal Gazette, details of all the events are supposed to be provided on bermudatourism.com. However, the only item mentioned on the website is a women’s conference earmarked for next February.

Yesterday, Mr. Dennis told this newspaper: “Those events are supposed to be on the Internet. They are not there. To me, they must be made up. If they are legitimate, they would already by on the Internet.”

Mr. Dennis said he had contacted the Department of Tourism, which is required to explain how it ensures money for the project is accounted for.

He said he decided to act after reading newspaper articles stating Mr. Curtis has $400,000 taxpayers’ money to spend on faith-based tourism this year, and a further $200,000 for 2006-07. “I’m asking for the agreement to see what it’s all about,” he continued. “The Government should have the agreement explaining what Mr. Curtis has to do. I want to see what the agreement says he has to do for the $600,000. We look at all the grants throughout the year. The recipient has to agree to provide financial statements to support what they are doing.”

Mr. Curtis responded last night: “I can’t help what the auditor is saying. I report directly to tourism. He’s welcome to contact them and speak to them.”

Asked why only one event was on bermudatourism.com, Mr. Curtis said: “They are getting there. It takes time.”

Over the past three weeks, former Opposition Leader Wayne Furbert has repeatedly questioned how much cash Mr. Curtis receives for his role in faith-based tourism, and how that money is being spent.

Mr. Curtis refused to comment until holding a press conference on Monday — and even then told the media they would not be allowed to ask any questions. During the press conference, he produced a complicated explanation for where the money was going and stated: “In order for Government to give the company money I have to satisfy a list of conditions.”

He said $200,000 had been allocated to the ten events, and provided very brief details on each, with one described simply as “Conference”. Offering a clue where the other half of the $400,000 is going, he also produced a document stating faith-based tourism salaries for 2007-08 came to $200,000.

After the conference, he conceded that two or three of the events would have taken place anyway without the help of faith-based tourism.

Last night, Mr. Furbert said: “Yesterday’s press conference only deepened my concern that we will not get the answers that many people want.

“I found it hard to swallow that Mr. Curtis could hold a press conference to answer questions about his handling of the faith-based funding only to say he would not take questions on the matter.

“My colleagues and I grew more concerned about the situation when Mr. Curtis stated that a complete breakdown of how money was spent was sent to us. We have received no such document.”

Mr. Furbert disputed Mr. Curtis’ claim that the Premier had answered Parliamentary questions on the subject posed by Opposition Leader Michael Dunkley. Mr. Dunkley last night said he had received no such response, while Dr. Brown has stated he will not answer the questions until the next Parliamentary session in November.

Backing Mr. Dennis’ involvement, Mr. Furbert continued: “I challenge Mr. Curtis to allow an independent auditor to clarify the situation. If my concerns are proven to be unfounded, I will issue a public apology.”

Responding to Mr. Curtis’ offer to repay $2 he claimed Mr. Furbert had contributed to a collection last October, Mr. Furbert said: “I challenge Mr. Curtis to produce the DVD and show it on television.”

This newspaper has asked the Department of Tourism for details of faith-based tourism events on numerous occasions this month but received no response. Yesterday, a request for information again went unanswered.

Auditor General launches probe of Faith-Based Tourism initiative’s contract