Bermuda’s Public Accounts Committee investigated all five segments of the Auditor General’s special report on the motor vehicle safety and emissions testing programme.Here are its paraphrased findings, with Ms Cox’s responses:VENDOR SELECTIONIn the 1990s, Bermuda Emissions Control’s founder Donal Smith raised with Government the idea that pollution emitted by motor vehicles should be controlled.The PAC committee says it could not get much clarity how Government decided to pursue a Government-owned approach rather a private sector approach, although former Transport Permanent Secretary Kevin Monkman says he supported the latter.The report states: “A decentralised private sector model would not have given rise to the level of public spending that took place.”It concludes from its interviews: “As early as 1999 it was a foregone conclusion that if emissions testing were to go ahead BEC would likely be overseeing the project development.”In August 2001, Transport Minister Ewart Brown signed a letter declaring BEC the preferred vendor for emissions control even though that move had not been approved by Cabinet and contravened Financial Instructions calling for at least three competitive bids.At that time, BEC was essentially a one-man company with no resources to construct a major structure in Hamilton and two satellite facilities, apparently without the financial resources to provide the working capital for the project.The committee found no evidence that such issues were viewed as critical by Government.Correia Construction Company (CCC) took a shareholding in BEC in February 2003, with Transport expressing no concerns about a potential conflict of interest.There was no evidence of a tendering process which would have allowed for any comparison of bids.In December 2006, BECL was awarded a contract, by way of a consultancy agreement, relating to the construction of the main facility as well as two satellite facilities.BEC contracted CCC to carry out the construction work. Cabinet approved the operating agreement with BECL in December 2008.Ms Cox replied: “Emissions testing is a specialised area wherein historically there was limited local expertise.“The record shows that BEC principals presented themselves as industry experts and worked with the Ministry/Department over an extended period in an effort to realise the implementation of the programme.“The decision to pursue a centralised Government owned approach versus a decentralised private sector approach was a policy decision and is basically out of the PAC’s remit.“It is generally not in the PAC’s remit to investigate ‘policy’ but rather administration, including administrative policies, of the Government.”