A senior civil servant told the Commission of Inquiry yesterday how a “weakness” existed when it came to checking that government contracts were put out to tender and Cabinet approval was given before public funds were spent.

Thomasina Hassell, chief financial officer at the Ministry of Public Works, mentioned the “weakness” three times while giving evidence about the process for payments to be made from the public purse prior to 2009. She said in the case of payments to outside contractors by the Ministry of Works and Engineering, as it was then called, vendors would submit invoices and technical officers would review and confirm the work was done.

Once a payment certificate was prepared by the technical officer, it would be reviewed for approval by the permanent secretary or head of department and then sent back to the technical officer, who submitted it to the accounts department to be paid. Narinder Hargun, lawyer for the commission, asked Ms Hassell what checks existed for ensuring there had been a tender and that Cabinet approval had been obtained, as was necessary for all contracts worth $50,000 or more, according to internal financial instructions.

She replied: “I can’t say.” She added: “I must say there was a weakness in part of the process which was identified in [an] internal audit.”

She repeated that there was a weakness, but said civil servants followed financial instructions, which listed the supporting documentation required in order for payments to be made. Government’s financial instructions dated December 2008 do not refer to the need for Cabinet approval in the section on supporting documentation, but those dated December 2009 list the requirement for “Cabinet conclusion or relevant Cabinet conclusion reference” before payments of more than $50,000 could be made.

Mr Hargun asked Ms Hassell: “How was it checked by either your department or the Accountant-General’s department that Cabinet approval had been obtained?” Ms Hassell said: “There was a weakness, I must admit. It showed up in our internal audit.”

Mr Hargun asked if it was correct that the check on Cabinet approval came at an earlier stage, as civil servants were not supposed to enter into a contract worth more than $50,000 without Cabinet’s permission.

“Correct,” replied Ms Hassell. She was asked by commission chairman Sir Anthony Evans if anyone had ever come to her to query a contract because they thought something was wrong with it. Ms Hassell said she couldn’t recall.

She described how the system had changed and the Cabinet conclusion relating to contracts was now logged at an earlier stage. She said, since 2009, the Cabinet conclusion would be required for a payment to be processed and it would likely be caught earlier if that wasn’t provided or if a tender process hadn’t been followed.

The commission is investigating the misuse of public funds between the years 2009 to 2012, as identified in a 2015 report by the Auditor-General, and its public hearings will continue at St Theresa’s Church Hall in Hamilton until October 11.

Also giving evidence yesterday was Andrew Morille, formerly financial controller at the Ministry of Public Works. He was asked by panel member Kumi Bradshaw who was ultimately responsible for ensuring financial instructions were followed.

Mr Morille, now financial controller at LF Wade International Airport, said it was the “accounting officer, who is the permanent secretary”.

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