PAC to examine Gasboy-gate
(CNS): The chair of the Public Accounts Committee has confirmed that he is expecting a quorum of members tomorrow morning (Thursday 6 May) to begin examining witnesses in connection with the auditor general’s most recent reports. The first item on the agenda will be the report on fuel card usage and management, aka ‘Gasboy-gate’, which revealed that as much as $500,000 of public funds could have been misappropriated as a result of the misuse of the government’s fuel system. Ezzard Miller confirmed that witnesses were scheduled to arrive from 10am onwards and PAC would get down to asking serious questions regarding this serious report.
Despite the recent headlines surrounding Dwayne Seymour’s recent arrest and Miller’s own recent complaints of PAC members failing to attend meetings, he said that he expected that at least two other members would be present to begin the necessary work on Thursday morning.
The committee will also be examining witnesses on the auditor general’s report on the Legal Aid System, but the first witnesses that will be answering the committee’s questions have been called in connection to the fuel management report.
The Auditor General’s Office said that following a review of an internal audit report of the government’s fuel system, it was apparent that the control weaknesses noted were “widespread and pervasive”. The office said that after discussions with the internal audit unit conclusions were drawn that there was a “very high probability that significant fraud relating to the use of fuel for non-governmental purposes had and continues, to take place.”
The breakdown in management of this system led Dan Duguay to conclude that his office needed to do a formal report on the internal audit unit’s findings in order to draw the situation to the attention of the Legislative Assembly and the wider public.
Thursday’s open PAC meeting, which takes place at the Legislative Assembly, will be the last for the current auditor general, Dan Duguay, who will be leaving the office on Friday 7 May after six years in office. Although Duguay had offered to stay in post when his second contract ended, he was asked to compete for his position. Against the backdrop of severe criticisms from the premier regarding the revelations in Duguay’s reports as well as his publicly stated intentions to follow developments regarding the port, Duguay was interviewed alongside numerous candidates from around the world. Although he was short listed by a panel consisting of the governor, a pastor and a private sector auditor, the job was given to an overseas applicant from Scotland.
CNS understands that the last of Duguay’s completed reports, the updated version of the controversial State of Financial Accountability Reporting, will be examined by PAC next week, after Duguay leaves the post. The report reveals the continuing, widespread and serious delinquency of a significant number of government ministries, statutory authorities and government companies in their accountability to the people.
Although the premier has openly criticised Duguay for his findings in this and a number of other reports, the departing AG remains a popular figure with the people of the Cayman Islands. In a CNS poll 73% of the 920 voters said he was doing an outstanding job.
Category: Headline News
Here is the answer: ANY government employee caught and proven by the PAC to use a fuel card for personal reasons will immediately be "let go" for breach of public trust, no matter what position or ranking in the civil service.
This ought to reduce the numbers of civil servants by a few dozen(+) or so and send the right message.
Let’s see, it goes toward the goal of reducing staff, sends a clear message that stealing is stealing whether it be office supplies, petty cash, or fuel, and would help to lower our massive civil service bloat.
I see this investigation as a win-win for Cayman if they FIRE the people who are proven to have STOLEN gasoline for their own personal use. What do you think???
I also ask the question how many PC’s have gone missing from Government buildings?
Ezzard is going to do what the UDP tell him to do, nothing more, nothing less. Take a look at his voting record, not his Tuesday Morning talk.
Una please, leave the man alone and see what he can do naw. Whether it is UDP or PPM we all have to live here with our children and grand children. So lets encourage the best for the Island.
Poster at 16.02
Your post makes it clear that you know nothing about Ezzard!
wasn’t like $300,000 to one person alone?
by the way, I saw him at the bar last night, free as a bird.
I remember a case where a girl stole $1200 from her employee and got 6-months to a year in jail.
So… what the hell is going on here?
What?! ‘Fraid you’re wrong on this. Embezzlers on this island get a slap on the hand only to get another prime job and RE-OFFEND!
Cayman is either naive and forgetful or very forgiving. Need to wake up!
Mr. Ezzard I’m happy to see that there is one MLA that has BACK BONE in the house. Only If my District was that luck keep up the good work.
What disturbed me about this gasoline theft was listening to Austin & Gilbert on the radio both say that they expected no legal action to be taken in this case. They never really explained why this "legal pass" .
In a country that professes to be based upon rule of law how criminal action is allowed and ignored baffles me and sends the wrong message to the criminals and to the people in general.
The judicial system will go after Catron over the theft of a dog but will ignore the theft of $500,000.00 of government owned gasoline, go figure.
You see, In the Cayman Islands,……Kisses go with favours. It has always been so. It is nothing about honest, and hard working people who wants the best for Cayman. That is over looked most of the time by favours with kisses. I am a Caymanian, but I can freely say "Some Caymanians?!!!".
Anyway my thoughts are "Consider this" No matter how much we have and how much we think we can get, there is a Someone who is greater than us all.
What disturbs me is the amount of people who are willing to offer opinions and make inferences based on the Auditor General’s report without having read it.
Enjoy:
http://www.gov.ky/portal/page?_pageid=1142,1593272&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
The Director responsible for Govt fuel has since taken early retirement, having somehow been allowed to abuse the CIG ‘all user’ email system to defend himself. rather than respond to the AG direct. How convenient. No blame to the gatekeeper at all of course – not my job sir!
Anyone in his/her right mind who does not believe that the Premier was the leader of a conspiracy to "get rid" of Dan Duguay because he was telling the truth is a fool!
If only DD had the time to expose all of the misappropriations, inadequacies and delinquencies then the journey to bring Cayman out of this period of economic darkness might not be such a long and frightening one after all.
Oops sorry but just one last thing. I have read lately that McKeeva doesn’t like "the bloggers". Well that would be the majority of the comentators on CNS, and the reason that he does not like us is that we can speak what is on our mind without havingto worry about retribution. I suppose he thought that he had it made after the Compass stopped accepting anonymous comments. Ha!!!! Got Cha Kee Kee!!!!!!! We are here and we will never forget what you have been up to so you had better hope that that wall can come down because you will have to go get a real job one day!!!
Oooow That’s good. Incredibly well said
Pay attention Cayman. We need our heads out of the sand on this
Good work!
Thank God for a man name EZZARD MILLER.
We’ll see. It appears as if so far he hasn’t even been able to persuade PAC members to turn up for meetings, so it will be interesting to see if he can get any action out of them, rather than the usual posturing followed by nothing!
I would have thought that given Cayman’s current problems, the PAC was a high profile entity. Can someone explain how members can accept appointment but not turn up? And if they do this regularly, why are they not removed?
Where can one find the names of the members of the PAC?? If we knew exactly who they were, they might find themselves being harassed by the public which they represent for not turning up and THEN we might get some response and accountability.
CNS: Click here
Thanks CNS for the names!! I am going to ask my MLA if he is showing up so that I can know I am represented 🙂
The Head of DVES "retired" very very suddenly recently but that should not free him or his department from scrutiny of an abuse that has been suspected by Duguay as long ago as post Ivan.
But he’sCaymanian and …er…um… Over to you Ezzard. We are watching you.