After staying up late last night and reading through the Auditor General’s “Management of Travel and Hospitality Expenditures Report”, I was incredulous that any Chief Financial Officer could actually approve the expenditure.

I am being very careful with my choice of words here.

The report says, “We found that the Chief Financial Officers involved were negligent in these duties.”

Do you honestly believe if this had occurred in the private sector any of these Chief Financial Officers would still be employed?

I am not surprised the Auditor General, Alastair Swarbrick has presented his report to the Anti-Corruption Commission for further review.

iNews Cayman has published a slightly abridged version of the Report on our front page and I urge all of you to read it carefully. If you are not outraged afterwards then there is something seriously wrong with you.

Nearly $ $8.6 million in Cayman Islands government travel and hospitality expenses over three years!!

Thousands and thousands of our money spent on months-long hotel room stays, limo rentals for government officials who were on vacation, lavish Christmas parties and presents for people, buying booze for various hospitality events and many other items with no documentation or explanations why the monies were expended.

The two ministries that spent the most and provided little in accountability were ex-Premier McKeeva Bush’s Ministry of Finance, Tourism and Development and former Deputy Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly’s Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture.

70% of the travel and hospitality-related spending in central government between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2012 were from these two ministries.

Swarbrick’s words were mild when he reported there was a ”high likelihood that the government mishandled significant amounts of public resources”!

“Furthermore,” he added, “monitoring and reporting of these transactions by management was virtually nonexistent.”

With $458,000 spent on travel or hospitality items with zero supporting documents, how could the Chief Financial Officers approve any of this? One former minister, unnamed, spent $71,000 on his/her personal government credit card who “effectively self-approved” it!

Then there is the question of Juliana O’Connor-Connolly’s aide. What were his duties that cost us nearly $34,000 over three years for his hotel accommodation in Cayman Brac? Perhaps our Speaker of the House can explain that? I heard it said he was her body guard…….

Then we had a film that was never made that cost us $10,000 just to rent the room.

I wish I had been invited to the retirement party of the civil servant in Bush’s ministry. It cost $10,000! I bet that was a fun night.

And of course the one all of us in the media queried. The Panama trip that produced another fat zero in trade or any benefit to this country at all. $71,000 that cost us! 43 persons went there and had another grand old time at our expense and to make sure they did they took along 14 entertainers.

Although the trip was in aid of the inaugural flight to Panama City of Cayman Airways some of the passengers actually flew there on American Airlines costing us another $19,200.

Time constraints prevent me saying any more. The proof is in the reading. Please do look at the Report.

And as for these Chief Financial Officers who approved all this including one ministry that wrote off $167,000 for travel advances issued between 2003 and 2009 to a senior official without any supporting documents, I cry “FOUL”. Give them the red card and don’t come back.

And please, don’t place any of them on full pay if you do send them home for years to come.