Sports Council Audit Reveals Troubling Financial Issues

Patrick Faber

At the end of September, we reported on an ongoing audit at the National Sports Council that was sanctioned by Minister Patrick Faber and the Ministry of Sports. We were reliably informed that were there were accountability issues.  And now the auditor general has done an audit that has revealed bigger issues within the Sport Council’s financial books. Today Minister of Sports Patrick Faber said he has not yet seen the report – but that the audit was done years going back before he took over direct responsibility for the Sports Council. He says that measures were instituted a while back and certain persons are no longer there. Here’s what he had to say.

Patrick Faber, Minister of Sports

“I have not seen the final report, but over the course of time I have been made aware of the fact that that audit was being conducted. I will make clear that the period of auditing that is in question didn’t happen, at least not when the Sports Council was under my direct care. It may have been when I was the overall Minister; so much of what has happened there is news to me. I am learning of it as I go along. No, I have not seen the official report coming from the auditor general as yet, although I believe the auditor general’s office met with the Board of the National Sports Council, sometime last week.”

Reporter

“Is this something that will require urgent actions because we have heard reports that there are significant sums of money in question – public funds?”

Patrick Faber

“Well, from my understanding much of the structures and the systems that are in place, or even the personnel they are calling into question are no longer there. I want to make that clear to the Belizean people that over time, in fact, when I came in to the care of the Ministry, we found quite a bit going on wrong for many, many years and so that is being unearthed by that report. Under my watch, we have made sure that in fact those persons we felt were not the best stewards of the resources are no longer there and in fact we took quite a few measures including putting in measures for procurement, putting in measures for any kind of spending that’s going to happening, changing some of the players on the board, changing some of the key personnel in the areas of finances and so on. So, that is certainly, under my watch that is no longer the case.”