Former Accountant-General, Joyce Hayward, has acknowledged that her department would sometimes just check signatures on capital projects to ensure arrangements were in line with Financial Instructions.

Ms Hayward, who held the position between 2004 and 2013, told the Commission of Inquiry that she relied on the expertise of accounting officers from the relevant ministries to ensure that due diligence had been completed.

The commission has been tasked with investigating a series of capital projects that came under criticism in special reports by the Auditor-General in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Yesterday morning, Commission lawyer Narinder Hargun asked Ms Hayward what checks her department made when it came to ensuring capital contracts were approved by Cabinet, properly tendered and payments were in line with Financial Instructions.

“We would rely on the accounting officers and the persons providing information to us to have done whatever the due diligence they were doing, to make sure they complied, so we could make payment,” Ms Hayward added. She told the commission that “putting the right people in place was the control that we had at that time”.

The Commission’s lawyer went on to ask Ms Hayward: “You were effectively checking signatures?”

She responded: “Correct, and depending on the type, for capital projects it would be different than other payments, because we were not capital project experts.

“If it was a payment to Belco we would have the invoice and we could check the maths, that is where our expertise would lie. But capital projects, that was not our expertise.”

Mr Hargun continued: “Your evidence is that you were the final check, but only to make sure the accounting officers in respect of ministries had signed off on it?”.

Ms Hayward replied: “Correct.”

Commission member Kumi Bradshaw asked Ms Hayward whether she felt that was sufficient with hindsight.

She said: “If the things had been in place in the departments as they were then yes the process should have worked how it was set up.

“But, of course, with hindsight there are things that have been corrected or fixed or changed that have made the process better.”

Mr Hargun asked Ms Hayward about the role her department played in several capital projects, including Heritage Wharf, Port Royal and the TCD project.

The former Accountant-General maintained that several changes had been made during her tenure to strengthen financial processes within Government.

She added: “When questions came up with the Auditor-General we would work on them and if there were concerns we would go to the Finance Secretary to make sure things were put in place so it did not continue.”

During yesterday’s proceedings the Commission of Inquiry also heard from Donal Smith, the CEO of Bermuda Emissions Control Ltd.

Mr Smith firmly denied making any contributions to any political party and said he found it “bizarre” that taxpayers would want to know whether he made political contributions.

“I find the question silly and dumb,” he said.

“We have never made a political contribution of any sort to any party.”

When asked again if his company, BECL, had made any political contribution to a party he replied: “Never.”

Mr Smith also denied providing any economic or other benefits to individuals linked to the Government.

His appearance before the tribunal comes after BECL lost a legal appeal against a subpoena requesting it provide documents regarding the development of the Transport Control Department’s emissions centre in Pembroke. The commission had requested documents from the business as it continues its investigation into the misuse of government funds on a raft of projects, including the construction of the TCD building and three emissions testing centres.

Auditor-General Heather Jacobs Matthews concluded in a special report released in 2010 that the cost of that project tripled from $5.3 million to $15.2 million after control was “relinquished” by the Government to two linked private companies, one of which was BECL. She found a disregard for normal financial controls.

BECL was awarded a five-year multimillion-dollar contract to carry out safety and emissions testing in 2009, without the project going out to tender, and the contract was renewed in 2014.

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