Governor Bruce Dinwiddy has requested the Auditor General undertake an ‘urgent special forensic audit’ of the National Housing and Community Development Trust, going back to the start of the Affordable Housing Initiative.
The audit will concentrate on the performance history and accounts of the Trust since 1 September, 2004, a press release from the governor’s office said Wednesday.
Auditor General Dan Duguay said a forensic audit is a special kind of audit.
‘We use that term when there have been allegations or suspicions of malfeasance,’ he said.
‘When we conduct a forensic audit, we take special precautions to ensure any evidence we gather is admissible in a court of law.’
Mr. Duguay said the information gathered for this type of the audit is the same as for a normal audit, but that the procedures are different.
‘We don’t know if we will need to use this as evidence or not, and if we don’t, we will have just spent some extra time in gathering the information,’ he said.
New minister responsible for Housing, Arden McLean, said he initiated the action.
‘The matter was brought to Cabinet and ultimately it was the Governor’s decision,’ Mr. McLean said.
‘I believe that going forward, the PPM needs to start on a clean slate,’ he said. ‘We need to ensure there are no irregularities with the expenditures of public funds.’
The Auditor General’s office has already conducted one audit on the Affordable Housing Initiative.
That report, which has never been officially tabled in the Legislative Assembly and is thus still considered confidential, was highly critical of several aspects of the initiative.
Mr. McLean said the pending new audit has stopped the Trust’s latest plans to redevelop the hurricane-damaged housing site off Eastern Avenue with multi-storey apartments.
‘At this stage, (that redevelopment) is on hold until this investigation is completed,’ he said.
The Auditor General has been instructed to submit his preliminary report by 17 June with a final report due by 31 August.
Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts is scheduled to take over the Ministry of Housing 1 July and Mr. McLean said he would then make the determination as to what will happen with the Eastern Avenue redevelopment.
Mr. McLean said his preliminary analysis of the current situation with the AHI has shown that many of the homes completed by the Trust have yet to be repaired of Hurricane Ivan damage.
Of the ones that are habitable and occupied, Mr. McLean said some have been sold and some are being rented. He said the statistical status of the AHI homes would be provided at a later date.
Former minister responsible for Housing Frank McField said he welcomes the audit.
‘They’ve already done one audit on the Affordable Housing Initiative, and this is just a deeper audit,’ he said. ‘I think they should go ahead and do it and get it over with.
‘I think the PPM in their election promises said they would investigate the UDP – something I call a witch hunt – and I think this is an indication they intend to abide by that promise,’ he said.
Mr. McField also said he believes this new audit may have something to do with comments made by a National Housing and Community Development Trust Manager Roger Bodden.
Mr. Bodden was given a letter terminating his contract 12 May, Mr. McField said.
‘Roger Bodden has been making unsubstantiated criticisms of me that might have fuelled the PPM’s actions,’ he said.
Mr. Bodden confirmed that he had received a letter from Mr. McField terminating his contract, but that the new Minister of Housing, Mr. McLean, had told him to continue working.
When contacted Wednesday, Mr. Bodden was in his office at the NHCDT.
Mr. Bodden said he believes Mr. McField was upset with him over comments he made in a Caymanian Compass article that appeared 13 May, under the headline ‘Housing contract on hold’ in reference to the AHI Easter Avenue project status.
‘That’s why he fired me,’ Mr. Bodden said.
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