NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called for sweeping reforms to the management of publicly funded projects after uncovering weak financial controls, procurement failures and no clear authorisation trail for approximately $524,000 reimbursed to a company owned by the chief executive officer of the 2023 CARIFTA Games Lynden Maycock.
The findings are contained in a 58-page report examining the governance, procurement and financial management of the 50th CARIFTA Games.
The PAC is a parliamentary committee responsible for scrutinising the expenditure and administration of public funds, including matters raised in reports by the Auditor General. Its role is to assess whether public resources were managed lawfully, transparently and efficiently, with appropriate accountability to Parliament and the Bahamian public.
The committee stressed that its function is not judicial and that it does not determine criminal liability. Its conclusions instead concern governance, stewardship, procurement and administrative conduct.
The PAC concluded that the governance framework established for the Games was inadequate from the outset and failed to consistently provide the transparency, accountability and value for money expected in the management of public funds.
It issued 29 recommendations, including proposed amendments to the Public Finance Management Act and the Public Procurement Act to ensure public-sector accountability requirements apply to any entity receiving or spending substantial public funds, regardless of its legal structure.
“The Committee believes that public procurement safeguards should not be diminished simply because public expenditure is routed through an SPV, company or local organizing committee,” the report stated.
The PAC recommended that no ministry or public authority transfer substantial public funds through a special purpose vehicle, local organising committee or similar entity until a written governing agreement has been executed by all relevant parties.
It also recommended that an accounting officer certify that the necessary governance, procurement, financial control and reporting arrangements are in place before public funds above a prescribed threshold are released.
According to the report, no executed Events Organization Agreement could be produced for the Games. The PAC found that this contributed to persistent uncertainty over decision-making authority, financial oversight and accountability.
Witnesses provided differing accounts of the responsibilities of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, the Local Organising Committee, the Executive Committee and the CARIFTA Games Company.
The committee also found that financial controls did not operate as intended. Some expenditure commitments were made before they were reviewed by financial oversight personnel, resulting in scrutiny becoming retrospective rather than preventative.
Procurement reviews were also conducted in some cases after goods or services had already been acquired, limiting the ability to properly test competition and value for money.
Of particular concern was the arrangement involving Accounting Outsource Services, identified as Company E in the Auditor General’s report.
The PAC report identified Lynden Maycock as the chief executive officer of the Games while also noting that Accounting Outsource Services was owned by the Games’ chief executive officer.
The company advanced funds and incurred expenses connected to the Games before being reimbursed approximately $524,000.
The report did not state the total cost of hosting the Games but highlighted the reimbursement arrangement. The PAC found that the arrangement allowed Maycock to exercise operational authority over the Games while financing expenditure through his company and subsequently receiving reimbursement.
“Even where expenditure may ultimately be legitimate, such an arrangement creates an irreconcilable conflict between the duty to protect public resources and a personal financial interest in transactions being reimbursed,” the report stated.
The committee said the arrangement represented a serious breakdown in governance, financial oversight and procurement discipline.
Responding to the findings, Maycock told Eyewitness News that the financial controls and procurement processes surrounding the Games were strong and followed best practices.
“The Financial Controls and Procurement processes were very strong and followed best practices,” Maycock said.
“The reimbursement arrangement with The Ministry of Finance was necessary considering the timeline we had to prepare for The Games and the delay in funds coming in from our Major Sponsors and Partners.
“As CEO for The Games there was no conflict of interest between my Firm advancing funds to mobilize the operations to prepare for the Games. The expenditure predominantly related to Staff Payroll.
“I am very confident that the planning, execution and overall management of The 50th Anniversary of The CARIFTA Games 2023 were performed with Honor and Integrity.”
The PAC was unable to determine with certainty who authorised the reimbursement arrangement.
Maycock testified that it had been approved by the Financial Secretary. However, the report said other witnesses indicated that they either learned about it after the fact, did not grant prior approval or could not identify the approving authority.
The PAC said it received no written approval, direction, memorandum or other documentation establishing who authorised the arrangement, when approval was granted, the scope of the approval or the process used to verify the reimbursement claims.
It described the absence of a clear approval trail for a transaction of that size as one of the strongest examples of the accountability failures examined during its inquiry.
The committee recommended that significant financial commitments and reimbursement arrangements involving substantial public funds be prohibited without written authorisation and an independently verifiable audit trail.
It also recommended mandatory conflict-of-interest declarations for directors, officers, consultants and senior personnel involved in publicly funded projects.
Related-party transactions should undergo independent review and approval. Project officials should also be prohibited from financing operations through companies under their control and later seeking reimbursement unless an independent oversight framework has been established beforehand.
The PAC further found that procurement principles were not consistently observed during the organisation of the Games. Expenditure sometimes occurred before procurement review, competitive processes were not always demonstrated and supporting documentation was not consistently maintained.
The report acknowledged that the Games faced financial and operational pressures but concluded that those pressures did not justify weakening controls intended to protect public resources.
The PAC also found that concerns about spending, governance and management practices were raised with senior government officials before the Games concluded.
According to the report, the concerns repeatedly reached senior levels of government, including the minister responsible for sports. It also stated that the prime minister was made aware after the Games began.
However, the committee found no indication that effective corrective action was taken before the concerns developed into formal audit findings.
The PAC was also concerned by the absence of a comprehensive management response to the Auditor General’s report.
Witnesses from the Auditor General’s Office confirmed that opportunities existed for management to respond to or clarify the findings, but the PAC said no comprehensive response was ultimately submitted.
The committee was also unable to identify a documented remediation programme or publicly available review showing how the deficiencies were corrected, what reforms were implemented or why similar failures would not recur.
It recommended that future publicly funded event entities submit final reports detailing their finances, procurement activities, major contracts and key governance decisions.
The PAC also called for mandatory post-project reviews, published lessons-learned reports and periodic updates to Parliament on the implementation of significant Auditor General recommendations involving substantial public expenditure.
Separately, the committee found no independent evidence supporting allegations made during testimony against the Auditor General, the minister responsible for sports and other senior government officials. It said those allegations were not relied upon in reaching its conclusions.
The committee acknowledged that the 50th CARIFTA Games were successfully hosted and generated significant national pride but stressed that operational success did not remove the obligation to properly account for public funds.
Its findings relate to maladministration, governance failures, procurement weaknesses and failures of public administration. The PAC made no finding of criminal liability, noting that any questions concerning criminal conduct remain matters for the appropriate investigative and prosecutorial authorities.
