Opposition leader Craig Cannonier has questioned why Premier Paula Cox failed to tell taxpayers about problems at Bermuda Land Development Company when she was alerted to them more than a year ago.The Auditor General’s Special Report on the Misuse of Public Funds, released last week, revealed that Ms Cox was told in December 2010 about BLDC chairman Edward Saunders and his deputy Leroy Bean picking up $160,000 in consultancy fees from the quango.The Finance Minister took action, including disbanding the BLDC’s board in May 2011, but the public was not told what had happened.Mr Cannonier said: “The public learned three days ago through the Auditor General about the misuse of public funds at the BLDC. The Premier learned about it more than a year ago. What does that say about her commitment to transparency?“An OBA (One Bermuda Alliance) government would have informed the public immediately. We would have stepped up to the microphone as soon as possible to report what was going on with a pledge to keep people informed going forward. This is what transparency and openness mean.“This Premier did not do that. Despite talking many times about the need for transparency in government, she has been anything but transparent. Here was an opportunity to walk the walk but she did not.”Mr Saunders and Mr Bean picked up $160,230 between them in consultancy fees from BLDC for the period February to December 2010.Auditor General Heather Jacobs Matthews discovered the payments during an audit of the company’s finances and raised the issue in a letter to BLDC’s chief executive officer on December 21, 2010. Ms Cox was copied into the correspondence.In her report, Mrs Matthews explains: “Board members have a fiduciary responsibility to act in good faith and in the best interests of the company. They are required to avoid conflicts of interest to ensure that the interests of the company take precedence over personal interests.“In addition, they must not use their positions for personal profit or gain. To do so is unethical and violates the principles of good governance. More specifically, a conflict of interest exists when a company does business with a director or a director has a compensation arrangement, as has happened in this case.”Ms Cox agreed with the Auditor and, on December 30, 2010, told then Works Minister Derrick Burgess, who was responsible for BLDC, that the money should be repaid and Mr Saunders and Mr Bean should resign.Deputy Premier Mr Burgess disagreed and “took no action” to remove the pair from their posts.Mr Cannonier said that was “disrespectful” to the Premier and an OBA government “would not have tolerated such disrespect”.The Opposition MP said it was unlikely the people of Bermuda were surprised about the misuses of public money revealed in the Auditor’s report, including more than $30,000 spent to fund the private legal fees of Mr Burgess and former Premier Ewart Brown.Ms Cox has said the legal case involving the two Ministers was a “legitimate action in the public interest” though Government stopped paying the fees after complaints from the Auditor.Mr Cannonier said: “To back away does not make sense if the Premier truly believed the Government’s integrity was at stake.”He said if the case was really about protecting the integrity of the Government, it should have sought one dollar in damages, not $4 million.Mr Cannonier added: “Good governance comes down to people and the trust you have in them and that is the issue at the heart of this report.”It wasn’t possible to reach the Premier for comment last night.