Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage and Minister of Labour Shane Gibson last night blamed the Ingraham administration for alleged abuses involving the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA).
The MPs made the charge in the House of Assembly after Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn claimed the government is not being transparent regarding the PHA issues.
But a forensic audit into the PHA pharmaceuticals and medical supplies covers both the Ingraham and Christie administrations.
The audit notes: "This report covers the period July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2013 with the mention of earlier periods for trend and horizontal analysis."
The Nassau Guardian reported on Monday that the audit revealed that at the end of 2013, there was a $10 million difference in pharmaceutical inventory between the physical count and what is reflected in the Princess Margaret Hospital's (PMH) computer system.
The government has not yet tabled the report in Parliament.
Lightbourn said the government "does not seem to feel that, that is something, which requires urgent attention".
Rising to his feet, Nottage, a former minister of health, shot back, "The money was lost during their administration."
"It was during their administration. And who was it that ordered the audit? This administration.
"That's how we know what it is. You all lost the money. Tell us where it is."
Gibson claimed the report covers the period between 2009 and 2012.
"We were not the government," he said on a point of order.
"They were the government. The report was submitted last year.
"The person, who was the minister of health at the time, is to his (Lightbourn) direct left: The member for Killarney (Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis).
"So we are concerned. That is why we are the ones who initiated the report. The report covered the period when they were in office, not us."
But Lightbourn said the report noted that the pharmaceuticals that were unaccounted for were for the year 2013.
"I don't know what the member for Bains Town and Grants Town (Nottage) is talking about," Lightbourn said.
"The report was up to the December 31, 2013. They were in power."
The auditor quotes a separate report produced by the hospital's Internal Audit (IA) Department.
It gave a "scathing report on the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) Inventory and Pharmacy year-end count for 2013".
"Sample results revealed that an excess of $10 million in inventory did not physically exist in the pharmacy during the year, but remained in [the computer system]," the IA's report says.
The forensic report says there has been no satisfactory explanation for this.
While the IA audit covered the period of 2013, an earlier audit by an outside auditor for the year ended June 30, 2012 "noted numerous differences in the quantity of inventory items between physical count and the inventory report".
The audit gives multiple findings that cover periods under the Ingraham administration and other periods under the Christie administration.
For instance, it pointed to another audit for fiscal years 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 that says PHA controls were circumvented to give a certain company an unfair advantage that led to "advance payments, outstanding deliveries, increased expenditure and a loss of funds".
The forensic audit said, "The PHA must establish uniform policies, procedures and standards that demonstrate high ethical standards".
Last night, Lightbourn noted that Minister of Health Dr. Perry Gomez declined to comment on the report.
"So you can understand why we are concerned with the way in which this government deals with money," Lightbourn said.
"We want to know what it is going to be used for. We want accountability, transparency. There is no transparency in this country at this time. Not ever. We hide everything."
Minnis also did not comment on the matter even after Lightbourn raised it in the House and the ministers charged abuses happened under the Ingraham administration.

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