The Government should be careful not to give the West End Development Corporation unnecessary breaks for late paperwork, senators warned yesterday.

Owen Darrell, the Junior Minister of Public Works, proposed an amendment to allow Wedco to submit audits for its financial accounts every six months instead of three months.

Mr Darrell said that Wedco’s struggle to complete deadlines in a timely fashion was because of their complexity and the organisation’s stripped-down manpower after the Covid-19 pandemic.

But Kiernan Bell, an independent senator, said: “At some point we have to hold people accountable for deadlines.

“If they’re having trouble with three-month deadlines, why would six months be better?”

Douglas DeCouto, an OBA senator, warned that problems with audits could lower Bermuda’s economic standing.

He added that he worried expanding the deadline could encourage further tardiness.

Dr DeCouto said: “There is a fundamental overwhelming problem that shifting the deadline won’t fix.

“The problem is that the skills needed by Wedco have not been provided by the Government.”

The amendment, which was passed in the House last Friday, was passed by the Senate.