OAG flags lack of concessions checks and balances policy at Customs

Auditor General Sue Winspear flags a lack of checks and balances in government’s concessions and waivers.
In her latest report released Thursday (6 June) Ms.Winspear said there continues to be “significant weaknesses in the approach to awarding and managing government concessions.”
She also said it is unclear whether the government is collecting all the revenue it should.
But beyond that Ms. Winspear said, in a media statement, “There is still no revenue concessions policy nor is there any systematic monitoring of the revenue concessions awarded … And so it is not known how much money has been foregone or whether the things promised in return for the concessions awarded have been delivered.”
Ms. Winspear also flagged the absence of a strategic plan at Customs.

Late Thursday evening Customs responded to the OAG report saying some its’ comments were unfair. It said it will work to address concerns raised.

“We, therefore, pledge our unequivocal commitment to implementing the recommendations that are feasible and funded. We believe, however, that it would be unfair to the department and the Customs Senior Management Team that was in place at the time of this audit to consider these audit findings in the absence of context. At the time of this audit, the then Customs Senior Management Team had been in place for just over one year,” the statement said.

Read the Auditor General’s report:

Customs in the Cayman Islands (1)

Read Customs and Border patrol response:

Media Release – CBC Response to OAG Report – Thurs6June