The Head of the Public Service insisted that much has changed since a major report into government spending was published almost ten years ago.

Derrick Binns said that “decisive steps” were taken to improve performance.

His comments came after findings by the Auditor-General released last month said actions of the Government and public officers during the Covid-19 pandemic brought to mind the Spending and Government Efficiency Commission report, published in October 2013.

Heather Thomas’s document highlighted that key findings then included a lack of accountability, a lack of performance culture and that “effective policies exist but are not utilised”.

The Auditor-General’s publication added: “The Sage Commission report was completed in 2013 and there was no pandemic at the time, but the observations contained in the report still hold true today.

“Organisation culture is what lies beneath the surface that often explains how an organisation actually functions, when risks are identified and addressed.

“Government can hopefully have the courage to recognise and accept these root causes in order to implement actions that work to lessen their effects, improve efficiency and effectiveness for Bermuda, create a better organisation culture to attract and retain the right talent, and cultivate future public officers to provide a better Public Service.

“And the public, to whom the Government is ultimately accountable, can find their information and funds duly protected and can seek to see tangible results due to them.”

In response to questions, The Royal Gazette was told last week that Dr Binns said the Sage Commission findings included in the Auditor-General’s report were “not indicative of the Public Service today and, arguably, were likely observations without context when set out in the Sage report in 2013”.

The government reply added: “These recommendations date back almost a decade.”

It said: “In fact, Dr Binns noted that much has changed in the service since the Sage report was published.”

Dr Binns explained: “The Government has taken decisive steps to clarify the matter of accountability and improve performance.

“Notwithstanding leadership training that ensued in the years following the Sage recommendation, the Code of Practice for Project Management and Procurement was first introduced in July 2018 and amended, following input from the Public Service Executive, in July 2020.

“This Code of Practice for Project Management and Procurement outlines how public officers will procure goods and/or services on behalf of the government departments, offices and public authorities in accordance with their dollar thresholds and procurement methods from the initial request through the closing of an activity.

“These rules incorporate a flexible framework designed to help public officers make balanced procurement decisions and guide them to procure responsibly and achieve public value.

“A series of training and awareness sessions across the Public Service supported the code’s implementation and its continued use.”

He added: “What’s more, the Office of Project Management and Procurement provides guidance, advice and support throughout the procurement process.

“The code is explicit in the procurement of high-value procurement — public officers recommend and Cabinet decides.

“Following events of the past, public officers have become highly sensitised to their roles and responsibilities, and work diligently to ensure that policy is adhered to.

“Further, it is well known within the service alleged code breaches are actively reported, investigated and corrective action required to be taken where breaches may occur.

“Finally, the 2013 Sage recommendations of the past have been subsumed by the Government Reform initiative, which has contributed to marked progress relative to Public Service administrative policy.

“Clear administrative processes and policies, as well as sound fiscal management, have evolved.

“Organisational structure and information technology infrastructure have also been impacted by the Government Reform initiative, and a renewed commitment to developing a well-trained workforce has also emerged.

“Notably, a culture of measuring outcomes and results, enabling accountability and transparency, are hallmarks of the initiative.”

The recent public interest report from the Office of the Auditor-General focused on the Travel Authorisation aspect of the Government’s response to Covid-19.

It acknowledged “the outstanding response of many public servants and those of the Ministry of Health and others contracted to help”.

The report added: “They showed personal sacrifice, courage and resilience.”

It also said: “There are long-existing legislations, tools, policies and procedures in place to ensure transparency and accountability of public officers; however, many of these tools and guiding principles were simply ignored.

“There were multiple violations of the law and the Code of Practice for Project Management and Procurement in the awarding, development, implementation and operation of the Electronic Travel Authorisation Portal and the processing and collection of revenues generated by the use of this facility.

“No competitive bids were pursued, and other established guidelines were breached or simply ignored, resulting in private-sector service providers in Bermuda being able to commence the provision of service with only verbal agreements, rather than properly executed contracts in place.

“Even when contracts were eventually executed, they were not executed in accordance with the Code of Practice for Project Management and Procurement, the Public Treasury (Administration and Payments) Acts 1969, or Financial Instructions.

“The use of a non-government bank account for the receipt and processing of Government’s revenues, rather than these funds being paid directly into the Consolidated Fund was a direct violation of the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968.”

David Burt, the Premier and Minister of Finance, said after the document was released: “Unfortunately, my initial review of this report shows a number of factual errors and incorrect inferences which could have easily been clarified if the Office of the Auditor-General would have reached out for clarification in advance of publication.”

He added: “This report discusses actions taken by the Government while addressing a once-in-a-century pandemic taken to protect the health of residents while trying to find ways to address the severe economic and financial challenges.

“It is recognised, accepted and has been stated by Cabinet that in some cases, given the urgent need to address critical matters on an often expedited basis, not all of the standard steps were followed.

“These matters were subject to review and appropriate, corrective action taken.”