PM instructs police to investigate Sports Authority report

PM instructs police to investigate Sports Authority report

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Authorities will investigate the findings of a recent audit into the National Sports Authority, which among other damning revelations, found that a consultancy firm was paid $1.19 million for work that was reportedly never done.

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis.

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis made the announcement to the media at the Melia Nassau Beach Resort on the sidelines of an Inter-American Development Bank signing ceremony for two loans.

“I would have spoken to the commissioner of police,” he said.

“I would have spoken to the attorney general and I would have spoken to the auditor general.

“I informed the commissioner of police that I am sending a report to him, so that they can do a proper investigation and deal with the matter appropriately.”

A six-year audit of the NSA completed by Auditor General Terrance Bastian revealed that expenditures to support stadium readiness upgrades lacked transparency, the government may not have gotten value for money from special funding provided to put on several international events, and numerous contracts lacked formalized “process and transparency”.

The report tabled in Parliament last week, covered the period July 19, 2011 to December 31, 2017

The auditor reported that a consultancy firm, which was not named, was paid $1.19 million for services never performed.

The report said the contract in terms of specifications and conditions had “shortcomings” as all the deliverables of the contract were never completed.

The authority’s board recommended to cancel the company’s service, but up to that point the money had already been paid.

Former NSA Chairman LeRoy Archer told The Nassau Guardian last week that he had objected to the contract.

But former Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr. Danny Johnson shot back that Archer was seeking to insulate himself.

“All the brothers who scared, do what you got to do,” the former minister said while on Star 106.5 FM’s “The Hit Back”with host Nahaja Black last Friday.

“That doesn’t have anything to do with me and my team.”

Johnson said the company was contracted to assist with securing, organizing and marketing events to be held at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium.

He said the ultimate goal was to promote sports tourism in The Bahamas.

Johnson, who did not name the company, said it was selected through a fair bidding process.

According to the report, another entity referred to as ‘Company G’ was paid just over $1 million between July 31, 2014 and January 24, 2018 in four installments, but a review of that contract revealed that none of the work was put to tender and the contract documents were not in place.

The auditor general said value for money could not be determined.

The review period was between July 19, 2011 to December 31, 2017.

 

About Royston Jones Jr.

Royston Jones Jr. is a senior digital reporter and occasional TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. Since joining Eyewitness News as a digital reporter in 2018, he has done both digital and broadcast reporting, notably providing the electoral analysis for Eyewitness News’ inaugural election night coverage, “Decision Now 2021”.