The Opposition has alleged that the Government flouted financial regulations by awarding a Cabinet Office contract to an IT firm without putting it out to tender.

The $179,000 contract for a Chief Information Security Officer Consultant was awarded last August to Cyberdine, a company owned by Canadian Christopher Warner, without a process of competitive bids, as reported by The Royal Gazette last week.

Mr Warner claimed on LinkedIn he was appointed as Virtual Chief Information Security Officer in September 2022 and Deputy Chief Information Officer two months ago – though the Government insisted the consultancy services he was providing did not include the latter role.

Government rules require all contracts of $100,000 or more to go through a competitive procurement process – unless a waiver is granted by the Office of Project Management and Procurement – and be approved by Cabinet.

A government spokeswoman said “all procedures, including compliance with Financial Instructions, were followed in the engagement of this consultant”.

Cole Simons, the leader of the One Bermuda Alliance, claimed the Government failed to follow hiring guidelines, which he said was “reprehensible”.

Mr Simons said: “Why does Premier Burt and his Cabinet think that they are above the law? It is reprehensible behaviour when they continue to flout financial rules without fear of consequence.

“The public deserve to know why Christopher Warner has been given a contract worth almost $180,000 without having to go through the mandated steps required before any contract over $100,000 is awarded. What is going on?”

Mr Simons went on to claim that Auditor-General Heather Thomas “clearly stated that the contract for the Virtual Chief Information Security Officer was given by the Government devoid of the competitive process” though it is not clear where the Opposition Leader was quoting from.

The RG asked Ms Thomas if the contract had been reported to her office and/or if she was looking into it.

She said there had been no referral to her office and she was quoted as such in our April 14 article.

The OPMP is the public authority which approves sole-source contracts and the Gazette has made a Pati request for requests for waivers and waivers granted in the past 12 months.

Mr Simons asked: “Where is the transparency?”

He alleged that the Cyberdine contract was pushed through without due process and questioned whether the same had happened with other contracts.

“Who is to say that there were no qualified Bermudians for the job?” Mr Simons asked.

Mr Simons said the OBA had repeatedly asked for a list of government consultants but never been provided with one.

He alleged: “This government has a history of flagrantly violating the procurement process. When does it end?”

A government spokesman said today: “The assertion from the OBA that the ‘Auditor- General, Heather Thomas, has clearly stated that the contract for the Virtual Chief Information Security Officer was given by the Government devoid of the competitive process’ is false, as all regulations were followed, and we can find no record of this mentioned in any reports of the Auditor-General.”

She added: “The public should be aware that following an unsuccessful recruitment for the role of Deputy Chief Information Officer post several months ago, as well as other vacancies in key areas in the Department of Information and Digital Technologies, steps were taken to identify interim resources to provide support.

“A subsequent recruitment exercise for the deputy post has recently concluded and it is anticipated the post will soon be filled.

“Meanwhile, it should be stressed that efforts are being made to recruit for the Chief Information Security Officer post and it is expected that this recruitment effort will commence in the coming weeks.

“As a result, and in order to fill an interim need, a consultant was engaged to perform related government duties as directed during this period.

“Contrary to reports, the accounting officer followed all the appropriate and relevant approvals.

“Specifically, an approval was obtained from the Head of the Public Service via a process that requires the support of an application to engage a consultant. This process is outlined in Financial Instructions and it is a process that differs from that of contracting a contractor or vendor.

“Therefore, to be clear, the consultant was engaged in keeping with all processes and procedures.”

• This article has been amended to include a comment from the Government and to make clear that the RG’s original story about Cyberdine did not quote the Auditor-General as saying that the “contract for the Virtual Chief Information Security Officer was given by the Government devoid of the competitive process”.