The United Bermuda Party demanded for a Forensic Audit to be applied to the pier project in Dockyard which has run $25 million over budget.

According to Deputy Opposition Leader Trevor Moniz, the project which was originally estimated to cost $35 million, but to date has cost tax payers $60 million, is an "embarrassment to Bermuda". Mr. Moniz called for Government to better explain how this project was able to go so far over budget, and asked for Auditor-General Heather Jacobs-Matthews to investigate whether tax payer's money was spent appropriately.

He demanded that a Forensic Audit, one intended to be used in court if there is any wrongdoing, be applied to the project in Dockyard, as well as other alleged Government overspends including Port Royal Golf Course, Sovereign Aviation and the advertising contract with firm GlobalHue, who he claims was paid an "enormous amount" by Government to advertise for Bermuda.

Mr. Moniz, who spoke on the motion to adjourn at the House of Assembly on Friday, claimed answers given by Premier Ewart Brown for the overspend were unsatisfactory.

"The Premier gave a Ministerial Statement last week giving excuses, but it wasn't valid because all of the reasons he cited in his explanation existed before the project began."

The Premier cited various reasons for the increase in cost such as the dolphins at the museum, but these issues should have already been factored in, he said.

Mr. Moniz, the Shadow Attorney General, also questioned why neither the Ministry of Finance nor the Ministry of Works and Engineering supervised the Dockyard project. And why Government didn't save money by using their own engineers on the project. "Where is all this money going? It is disappearing," he said.

Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards, also spoke about the overspend on Friday, referring to a similar plan for Dockyard drawn up ten years ago by company Bermello Ajamil.

In 1999, the company quoted that Dockyard renovations would cost upwards of $8 million. And even if the inflation rate was five times as high, Mr. Richards estimated it should have cost no more than $33 million for the project to be completed in today's market. "What happened with this project?" he asked. "Because the answers the Premier gave are not satisfactory. We cannot have tax payers money which is very scarce these days, wasted on a project."

"Everyone agreed (the Dockyard project) should be done, but we can't just have money disappear."