A $1 million allocation for an urban agriculture program under the government's Urban Renewal initiative "died on the vine" and was redirected elsewhere, according to testimony provided to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by Urban Renewal Commission Co-Chair Algernon Allen, who was unable to account for how the funds were redirected.

PAC Chairman Hubert Chipman tabled the PAC's long-awaited report of the government's Urban Renewal Programme in the House of Assembly yesterday.

The report focuses on the Small Home Repairs (SHR) program.

PAC member Shane Gibson, the MP for Golden Gates, yesterday tabled a minority report which hit out at the findings presented by the PAC in its report.

"From the outset, management of this substantial outlay of public funds was fundamentally flawed, with no structure in place, no quality assurance standards and no independent oversight," the PAC's report said.

"This is exemplified by subpar record keeping with regard to the program's various bank accounts, multiple disbursals, which lack a proper paper trail and one account in particular, the private account, to which co-chairs are signatories, existing with no oversight whatsoever for the first six months, contrary to the stipulations of the Ministry of Finance, acting in accordance with the Financial Administration and Audit Act."

According to Allen's testimony before the commission in September 2015, the SHR program was established without proper policy and procedure documentation.

Allen also told the committee that the practice of limiting contracts to two projects per contractor, to ensure fair distribution of work among eligible contractors, was overridden by direct intervention of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works Philip Brave Davis.

One contractor was awarded nine contracts, while another was awarded 11 contracts, the report revealed.

According to the PAC report, Allen conceded that some derelict and abandoned homes that should not have been a part of the program were repaired, including an abandoned home on Royal Palm Street that received a new roof.

The majority report said it received evidence of written instructions via email from Allen that no government employees were to have anything to do with the URC's private bank account, but Allen denied giving such instructions.

Allen told the committee that the private account was a precursor to the establishment of the Urban Renewal Foundation, which accepted donations from the public.

The funds were spent as the co-chairs directed.

The private account was subsequently closed.

The PAC claimed URC Financial Officer Francina Horton did not have control of the private bank account.

"It is our view that the deficiencies opened the door to the potential for profiteering, fraud, corruption and other forms of malfeasance," the report said.

Allen and URC co-chair Cynthia "Mother" Pratt earned $52,000 each per year and were provided a vehicle, gas allowance, mobile phone and an office, although their duties were not considered full-time.

The committee said it found Allen to be forthcoming by in large, but it was obvious that his role is "largely ceremonial and public relations orientated" rather than acting as a functioning chairman.

The committee said while it commends Pratt's decades-long record of service to the disadvantaged, her defensiveness and claim to lack an understanding of the details of the inner working of Urban Renewal were "naive in the extreme".

The PAC reported that best practices have not been employed and as a result of "serious lack of transparency and fiscal accountability" taxpayers have not received value for money.

Security breach
Security standards with protecting sensitive information were either "woefully lax or totally nonexistent", the report said.

URC Permanent Secretary Diana Lightbourne testified before the commission in March 2015, that due to the unreliability of her government email, she used her personal email to discuss internal URC business.

Her account was hacked compromising sensitive government information and destroying an audit trail that "may have proven helpful", the PAC said.

The committee said her testimony represents a "microcosm of the deficiencies that have plagued the URC.

The PAC said is was most alarming to learn that despite Lightbourne being one of the signatories on the URC's private bank account for six months, she claimed she never knew she was a signatory.

The PAC recommended that all bank accounts under Urban Renewal be operated in accordance with the Financial Administration and Audit Act and reconciled and reviewed on a timely basis by a senior accountant.

It said all disbursal of funds for grants, work or the purchase of equipment should be mandated to be transparent and accountable.

Forensic audit
The committee called for a full independent forensic audit and review of the inner workings of URC to determine the extent of public wastage and whether any intentional malfeasance may have taken place.

It recommended that all independent contractors including quantity surveyors, building inspectors, architects, should be qualified and licensed professionals in accordance with the law.

The PAC said the URC should be separated from the Ministry of Works and become an independent authority, headed by someone qualified in urban regeneration and redevelopment.

The committee also recommended the URC Authority have its own financial controller; a full-time independent statutory commission that oversees the work of the co-chairs and other senior employees; a statutory framework be crafted for the program; and that all disbursals of funds be transparent and accountable with work orders, purchase receipts and inspection certificates.

In July 2015, three months after the auditor general released a scathing report on the management of the SHR program, Davis tabled an independent report to verify the quality of repair works that were completed under the SHR program to determine whether there was value for money and to make any recommendations to improve efficiencies for further consideration.

Davis commissioned Island Dimension & Development Co. Ltd. and J. D. Chisholm & Associates to conduct the independent review.

He said the report revealed almost 94.2 percent of all repair works was completed when set against the intended scope of works and, in some instances, contractors went beyond the scope of works.

Royston Jones Jr., Guardian Staff Reporter

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