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Jules Vasquez reporting
The auditor general's report for the fiscal year 2011 - 2012. It is almost 300 pages long - but does not provide any screaming headlines. For the second year in a row, the auditor general laments the absence of a functioning Public Accounts Committee.

Just like last year, she found bank accounts un-reconciled. - 23 of them in this case. And that's why she gave an adverse opinion - whereas in the previous year she simply with-held her opinion.

The police reward fund is one reconciled account where regulations were ignored, saying that withdrawals should not exceed four thousand dollars annually - but in this case - one withdrawal for 53 thousand dollars was made in one day without the Minister's approval.

The Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said it is the fault of the public service:

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Things like a lack of reconciliation, I'm not blaming public officers. But that's hardly the sort of thing that the political directorate can ensure will take place."

But, the auditor general sees it differently - she says the Executive must be more vigilant, and held accountable.

Because it costs the taxpayer. She also found that contracts were drawn up after works had been done - which the PM was clearly not too alarmed about:

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Again there are exceptional circumstances where you shouldn't, but you do move quickly because you feel there's a special urgency to the case. I repeat, they ought not to happen, but look, you're not talking about any case of fraud. You're not talking about any case of any politician or any public servant having made off with monies."

But reckless management of resources came up more than once - both in terms of supplies, and vehicles - where the Auditor general found that control of the use of government vehicles is poor and misuse undetected.

And there was also a review in the ministry of Labour, Local Government, Rural Development & Sanitation dating back to the year two thousand where it was found that in 2006 and 2007 Five vehicles received fuel although the vehicles did not belonged to the Ministry - not much more could be found because No Fuel Order book was provided to Audit for examination for the period May 2002 to July 2008.

In Dangriga, two cashiers at the sub-treasury cancelled a bunch of electronic receipts and pocketed the cash. How much? 93 receipts totaling seventeen thousand dollars.

Under student loans, a quarter million worth between 2001 and 2011, no evidence of repayment for one or any Student loan was seen. Also in the period between 2001 and 2011, at the Belize Tourism Board.

18 hotels paid less than the amount assessed to a loss of over 160,000 thousand dollars in revenue. And the BTB is instructed to go collect the money.

So will the BTB make those collections? We contacted the Director of Tourism Karen Bevans who told us that she was not aware of the audit and would look into it.

You can check the full 284 page audit when the news is posted tonight on 7newsbelize.com

https://www.dropbox.com/s/auzp2miska523gv/AUDITOR%20GENERAL%20REPORT%20APRIL%202011-2012%20copy.pdf?dl=0