BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – “I think that the whole establishment of a foundation is wrong and I believe I can find laws to support what I am saying, because what the government is selling to these overseas persons is our patrimony. Therefore, any return from it must be forming a part of the Consolidated Fund which is being operated by the Accountant General.”
This is the view of Richard Caines - member of the Operation Rescue movement and minister in the former People’s Action Movement (PAM) administration – with regard to the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF).
The Foundation was established following the closure of the sugar industry in 2005 and was designed to help sugar workers in transitioning from sugar into other areas.
It has evolved to include the funds from the Citizen-by-Investment programme and is also a means through which assistance is given to up-and-coming entrepreneurs and prospective first-time homeowners.
According to www.sidf.org, “The Foundation has its own organization separate from the Government and is managed by an independent Board composed of well-respected individuals from the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis.”
Caines – who explained that he is not against the idea of the formation of the SIDF – suggested that rather than being run by its own board of directors, the SIDF should have been under the umbrella of the civil service as a means of ensuring transparency and accountability.
“The Foundation was formed toward what end? And as far as I am concerned, the whole thrust of the SIDF is totally wrong. We should have had the funds generated and going into a special account, managed by the Accountant General or managed by the Ministry of Finance, not by people outside of the realms of the civil service or the government. What that does is it leaves holes in the process. They have a board of directors and that board of directors has nothing to do with the government per se. And their only link with the government, it would appear, is the Prime Minister.
“In terms of the government, you would be surprised! When things go wrong they go wrong because people allow them to go wrong. But there are so many rules and regulations, including the financial instructions, the Finance Act and the Constitution, which tell you how the finances obtained in the country must be administered. Not only that, there is the Accountant General who would manage these things but, beyond that, there is the Auditor General and that person is the one who would oversee these things.
“When it comes to the SIDF, it is not under his control; therefore, the questions cannot be asked. Most corporations, their financial statements would have to be presented in Parliament, according to law, but that is the extent of the involvement of the government…But when it is under the egis of the Accountant General, it’s a totally different matter. They could send in people any day to check to see what you are doing.”
Caines further suggested that “the unfortunate thing with most of the government corporations is that they are really extensions of the Labour Party and, as such, the management skills and professionalism is nonexistent. They will get direction from a minister and I make no apologies for saying that.”
The SIDF website informs that the Foundation “…is audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers”.
