Shadow Minister of Sport Jon Brunson recently faced off in a one on one with Minister Dale Butler. The issue was the financial accountability of Bermuda's sporting and charitable bodies.

Imagine Mr. Brunson as the goalkeeper, waiting to receive the Minister's best effort at putting to rest any questions over his oversight of charitable funding.

Minister Butler stepped up to the mark and, much like David Beckham's effort at Euro 2004, blasted a simple shot completely wide of the mark. Welcome to the regulation of sport and charity in the New Bermuda, more appropriately entitled ‘Bend it Like Butler'.

The Minister revealed that many organisations in receipt of Government funding either haven't registered as a charity or aren't filing their mandatory financial reports.

We've heard a lot about mandatory lately, but it seems that mandatory is optional when applied to Government's financial reporting but not other issues. However, rather than continue on and explain the steps he was taking to rectify this situation the Minister affirmed this behaviour.

The integrity of Bermuda's finances under the PLP Government is taking a beating. Financial dodge ball has become our national sport. This lack of accountability has spread rapidly, with some charities emulating the Government who unapologetically ignore their own fiscal obligations.

The recent admission by the Minister of Community Affairs and Sport, that he will continue to fund groups in violation of the Charities Act, is not only encouraging law-breaking but will undermine the integrity of our important charitable network.

One interpretation of the Minister's position is that he thinks he is being helpful by continuing to fund groups in violation of their charter. This rationale is counter-productive, institutionalising poor management and will eventually lead to the failure of these well-intentioned charities.

Millions of dollars in donations are made every year in good faith and the Charities Act is in place to ensure the confidence of those who fund them, either through Government grants (your tax dollar) or private donations.

Charities serve an important role in Bermuda, one that should not be undermined by politics. In fact some of the higher profile ones run more efficiently than the Government departments they supplement.

Bermudians and Bermuda's corporate community are renowned for their benevolence. Our charitable nature is both admirable and essential. These groups supplement the work of Government departments, keeping our taxes down while providing essential services.

Without them the Government would have to step in, almost certainly less efficiently and at a much higher cost.

The Minister's position will understandably cause future donors to think twice about contributing to organisations which can't account for their donations and will unfortunately harm the reputations of the ones that do.

A donor must be confident that that their money is being spent appropriately and reaching the people intended, not lost to opportunistic fraudsters or badly managed organisations.

The cynical interpretation of the Minister's response is that he is attempting to immunise his Government's own questionable financial record by extending this behaviour to other segments of the community.

If we're all in the same boat together then the Government's own shameful record with the public purse will be less remarkable.

The disregard for legislated and accepted financial standards has reached epidemic proportions in recent years. This disease is spreading like a virus and we know who the carrier is. It's the very Government that is charged with protecting the integrity of the public finances.

Bermuda's charities receive substantial taxpayer support through annual grants. These are not guaranteed and should be contingent on meeting the commitments of the Charities Act.

This legislation protects the charities, the people who look to them for support and those who fund them. The failure to hold charities accountable will undermine their ability to function over time.

If a charity doesn't have the expertise or resources to prepare their financial statements they should be directed to an organisation that can assist, not allowed to continue unabated with the Minister's endorsement.

Bermuda's sporting and charitable organisations who do such good work cannot adopt the practices of the BHC, parish councils and other agencies who consistently fail to file their financial statements or satisfy their annual audits. Their work is too important.

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