Progressive Labour Party MP Zane DeSilva delivered a spirited defence of his links to the Port Royal Golf Course development at the latest meeting of the Public Accounts Committee.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we have got value for money,” Mr DeSilva told the bipartisan group tasked with investigating government accounts.

Opting to appear at the PAC’s latest deliberations on the project, which was the subject of a critical 2014 special report by Auditor-General Heather Jacobs Matthews, the Island Construction CEO was adamant that he had recused himself as a Port Royal board member from any discussions involving the use of the company.

Mr DeSilva also criticised the Auditor-General’s work, telling the committee she made “statements in this report that are factually wrong”.

“One of them is calling me a minister,” he said. “That’s 101 reporting. I would challenge the present Government to get a real Auditor-General to do a good job.”

As for the project’s increase in budget, to $24.5 million from early estimates that were $20 million less, Mr DeSilva told the PAC that the magnitude of the project had increased dramatically, including the onus of meeting Professional Golfers’ Association standards.

“Port Royal is one of the top public golf courses in the world. When we had the Grand Slam it was beamed to 80 million homes. Value for money, you ask?” Mr DeSilva said, suggesting the PAC look into the budgets of renovations such as Belmont or Tucker’s Point.

Mr DeSilva told the committee that Island Construction had originally been asked to submit hourly equipment rates back in 2007, at the behest of project manager Daniel Lemoine.

“I at no time had any involvement with my board with regard to those rates,” he added. “I didn’t have any involvement as a trustee.”

Questioned by One Bermuda Alliance MP Jeff Sousa, Mr DeSilva repeatedly denied any conflict of interest with the $24.5 million refurbishment from 2007 to 2011.

He also said Mr Sousa had wrongly charged his company with getting the Port Royal irrigation contract, which he said it had not.

Defending the choice of the company, Mr DeSilva said that Island Construction had handled excavation and restoration for every golf course on the island, with the exception of Belmont, over the past 25 years.

His brother Allan DeSilva, who handled the company’s business at Port Royal, joined him yesterday in the Senate chamber. The committee heard that the company provided sand for the course, along with renting varieties of equipment.

The company’s rates were “very competitive”, he said, while discrepancies such as a payment of $1.7 million for equipment rental when the initial contract was $1.6 million were nothing unusual for a company working by the hour.

Meanwhile, the awarding of a $10,000 by Port Royal’s board to enable the payment of a finder’s fee to a board member, which the Auditor-General branded inappropriate, was “not abnormal at all”.

Asked by OBA MP Cole Simons if Port Royal’s board was advised on meeting government financial instructions, he said Adam Barboza and former tourism permanent secretary Cherie Whitter had helped with oversight.

“The Auditor-General has highlighted infractions in regards to financial instructions, yet you have indicated that Mr Barboza and Ms Whitter were there to guide you?” Mr Simons asked him, to which Mr DeSilva responded: “From time to time.”

“In my estimation, you did not have good enough guidance,” Mr Simons said. “You as a Cabinet minister would know.”

Mr DeSilva pointed out that he was not a minister at the time, adding: “Hindsight is 20-20.”

PAC chairman David Burt interjected to point out that financial instructions had been different at the time of the Port Royal work, while Mr DeSilva said Ms Whitter had already informed the PAC that there had been “detailed monitoring” of expenses.

Asked by Glen Smith of the OBA if the project had delivered value for money, Mr DeSilva asked if Bermuda was getting good value for the 2017 America’s Cup after spending $77 million. He added: “Ask the PGA if the course met their standards; ask Roger Rulewich, one of the world’s most renowned golf course architects, if Bermuda taxpayers got value for money.”

He said he did not believe that costs “ever got out of control”, adding: “What we had was a continuum of changes for us to host a world-class event.”

In addition, the Auditor-General’s report was highly critical of the project being moved from the oversight of the then Ministry of Works and Engineering.

However, Mr Burt pointed out that the requirement for the project to be delegated to Works and Engineering had not been in place at the time. Asked by Mr Simons why Port Royal had made that decision, Mr DeSilva responded: “I would think it’s the same reason why Bob Richards has taken over the airport, rather than leave it to the Ministry of Transport.”

He said “no one” at Works and Engineering had expertise comparable to that of his brother.

“Does anyone in Tourism build golf courses? Does anyone in Cabinet?” Mr Simons asked, to which Mr DeSilva said: “Has the finance minister built an airport?”

He added: “The trustees had the wherewithal to hire the best people to get the job done, and that’s what we did.”