Auditor defends report release

Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick

(CNS): The auditor general has defended the need for the timely release of his reports into the public domain following talk, once again, that their release to the public should be delayed. The process of how the office releases the reports has constantly been under threat but calls from the opposition leader Wednesday to delay the release of them all until the PAC has met to discuss them has been rejected by Alastair Swarbrick, who warned against the politicisation of his factual reports.

Following Wednesday’s meeting Swarbrick has released a position paper  on the independence of his office and public reporting.

He points to the need to ensure reporting is relevant and timely so legislators and citizens can hold government to account for the use of public funds.

“There has been continuing discussion in the public about how I report to the Legislative Assembly and whether it is an appropriate way for me to inform the Legislative Assembly and the people of the Cayman Island,” Swarbrick said about his decision to release the paper. “I believe it is a good time for me to provide information that would help everyone understand why my audit reports need to be released to the public on a timely basis.”

The paper also describes how the Office of the Auditor General follows international auditing standards to ensure the factual accuracy of his reports that include additional steps to obtain input from government officials in the preparation of the reports.

“I want the Members of the Legislative Assembly and the public to know that they can rely on my reports to hold government to account. Delaying the issuance of my reports as suggested by certain commentators since I have been the Auditor General would regress the Cayman Islands governance framework and effectively weaken the democratic foundation of our society,” he warned.

During this week’s committee hearing Swarbrick came under direct attack from the opposition leader but so did his office and the issue of when the reports are released to the people. Bush said none of the reports should be circulated in the public domain until they have been scrutinized by the committee and both sides have had their say. Bush, who spent a significant part of the hearing this week defending himself against the findings in the auditor’s report on the management of travel and hospitality, had accused Swarbrick of misinformation, which misleads the public and is regurgitated by the press without both sides being aired.

However, Swarbrick rejected that allegation as he pointed out that his team always works with ministry staff during any value for money audit checking and cross checking information. After the first draft of the report is finished it is circulated to all the relevant parties for comment including the deputy governor and all senior civil servants. They are given three months to respond and often take longer. Swarbrick warned that any move to try and delay timely publication would be a backwards move and fly in the face of international standards and undermine government transparency.

When Bush called for the changes Roy McTaggart the chair of the committee appeared to be sympathetic to the delay.

McTaggart said the standing orders currently require that the reports should be released to MLAS first then to the public. But the chair said he had sympathy with Bush’s position as he believed the standing orders that manage the local parliament need to be reviewed and modernised. Falling short of saying he agreed with the proposed delay he didn’t reject the idea.

The battle by politicians to keep the auditor general’s reports out of the public domain as long as possible is not a new one and both Dan Duguay the former auditor and Swarbrick the current public finance watchdog have had to push hard to have reports released quickly.

In the past the reports were not made public until the committee had met. However this caused delays of years during the 2005 to 2009 administration when Osbourne Bodden was chair of the PAC which met in public to review reports on only one occasion. The standing orders were change to ensure, the members whom Swarbrick reports to were aware of the reports first, but once members had copies the office could release its work to the public.

Speaking about any move to change that on Wednesday Swarbrick said, “Any step to try and prevent the publication of the auditor general’s reports would be a retrograde step in contravention of international standards as approved by the United Nations General Assembly and Commonwealth heads of government.”

He warned: “It is fundamentally important that an audit office has the ability to publish its results without fear or favour to prevent misinterpretation or politicisation of those results.”

Fighting back about the allegations on misinformation in his reports he insisted that the only thing they report is facts backed by documentation as was the case with this latest report. “We do not report fiction,” he said.

In his position paper Swarbrick calls for legislation to protect his independence and ability to do his job.

“Comments have been made by some commentators over the last four and a half years since I have been Auditor General, that if supported would erode my ability to report to the Legislative Assembly and the people of the Cayman Islands with the independence I need to effectively carry out my duties. I believe these comments clearly show the fragility of the governance framework in place to protect my independence and the lengths that some individuals might consider in the future to erode democracy in the Cayman Islands for their own personal interests,” he warned.

“Reporting on issues relating to the management of public funds has been a challenge for me at times,” Swarbrick stated.

“Since becoming Auditor General, I have issued several reports discussing the inappropriate role of politicians in the day to day administration of government. These findings demonstrate a lack of good governance, but more importantly, demonstrate a clear disregard for the principles enshrined in the Constitution and laws of the Cayman Islands. Therefore, it is critical that my reporting timelines to the Legislative Assembly be free of possible influence by those same individuals who may have themselves transgressed good governance practices.”

“The opportunity exists at this time with the Government considering changes to the Public Management and Finance Law to reinforce the reporting process for the Office of the Auditor General in legislation,” he added.