Auditor General disappointed with slow progress in implementing recommendations

The report, Follow-up on past PAC recommendations 2022 – Report 3, was issued today by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG). This report is the latest in a series. It provides an update on the Government’s progress with implementing recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament for two reports; Workforce Planning and Management in the Cayman Islands Government and Efficiency of Summary Courts.

The two OAG reports date back to April 2018 and November 2019 and the related PAC reports were tabled in April 2019 and July 2020 respectively. Together the OAG and PAC made a total of 29 recommendations in these reports. As of September 2022, more than 75 per cent of the recommendations had not been implemented. There has been no or limited progress with six (21 per cent) of the recommendations, 16 (55 per cent) recommendations were in progress or action is planned. Only six (21 per cent) have been fully implemented.

Sue Winspear, the Auditor General, said, “It is disappointing that, overall, limited progress has been made in implementing the recommendations in the two reports covered. This is particularly disappointing as some recommendations date back to 2018.” Ms. Winspear adds, “However, it is worth noting that my assessments show different rates of progress made by government entities.” 

The report assesses the Government’s progress with implementing the recommendations in the Efficiency of Summary Courts report as Red – limited progress. Of the 13 recommendations in the report, only three (23 per cent) have been implemented.

The Auditor General says, “I have assessed the Government’s progress with implementing the recommendations in the Efficiency of Summary Courts report as Red – no or limited progress. Almost three years after making the recommendations, only three (23 per cent) of the 13 recommendations have been implemented. All three of these recommendations were directed to the Government. Judicial Administration has not fully implemented any of the ten recommendations directed to it. This is very disappointing.” Ms. Winspear adds, “It is almost three years since I recommended that Judicial Administration consult court users to identify their needs, perform long-term demand projections, and feed this information into the Outline Business Case for the new court building. This has not happened and there is still no Outline Business Case. Without taking these steps, the Outline Business Case for the project will be flawed and result in a court building that is not fit for its purpose. This could result in Judicial Administration incurring additional, unnecessary costs to modify the building later.”

The Auditor General adds, “Judicial Administration has not yet established a performance management framework for the criminal justice system. While the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to some additional backlog and delays in the court system, it is essential that robust performance information is in place to understand the reasons for adjournments and delays in court cases and make improvements where necessary. Efficient and effective administration  is essential to maintain public trust in the justice system.” Ms. Winspear continues, “I note that a new Chief Justice has recently been appointed and I urge her to take forward the recommendations made as soon as possible.”

The report assesses the Government’s progress with implementing the recommendations in the Workforce Planning and Management in the Cayman Islands Government report as Amber – some progress. Three (19 per cent) of the recommendations have been implemented and a further 70 per cent (11 of 16) have been partly implemented. Only two recommendations have had no or limited progress.

The Auditor General says, “I am pleased to note that the Portfolio of the Civil Service (PoCS) has made some progress with many of the recommendations in the Workforce Planning and Management in the Cayman Islands Government report. For example, PoCS is rolling out a new Human Resource Management System, my-Vista that should provide better information to managers and Human Resource staff to help them plan and manage the Civil Service workforce. However, the system will not be fully implemented until December 2023, four years later than planned.” Ms. Winspear continues, “I noted that PoCS has not yet implemented the recommendation to improve its approach to succession planning so that it can fill leadership and business-critical posts in the future. About 13 per cent of all civil servants are due to retire within the next six years. PoCS needs to identify which of these people are in business-critical posts and train and develop Caymanians to take up those roles in the future.”

The report provides an update on the Government’s progress with tabling its formal responses to PAC reports (known as Government minutes). 

The Auditor General says, “In January 2022, the Deputy Governor took personal responsibility for coordinating and tabling Government Minutes. It is pleasing to note the positive impact of his commitment. Since my last follow-up report in February 2022, the Government has made commendable progress in drafting and tabling Government Minutes, tabling its response to three PAC reports in Parliament. In addition, the Cabinet approved the Government Minutes for another four reports in June 2022, and the Government planned to table these Minutes at the next sitting of the Parliament.” Ms. Winspear continues, “However, I continue to be concerned that the lack of regular meetings of the Parliament is contributing to the late tabling of Government Minutes, which hampers the accountability process.” 

More information about the report can be obtained by contacting Sue Winspear at (345) 938-3201 or Angela Cullen, Deputy Auditor General (Performance Audit) at (345) 922-3220. 

1. The Public Accounts Committee considers reports made by the Auditor General and generally endorses the recommendations in her report. The PAC also makes further recommendations based on the witness hearings they hold at the time.
2. The Cayman Islands Government is required to formally respond to the PAC recommendations within three months of the PAC laying an Auditor General report in the House of Parliament.
3. The OAG has assessed the Government’s progress with implementing recommendations for the following two reports (see Exhibit 2 in the report):
   • Workforce Planning and Management in the Cayman Islands Government (April 2018) – Some progress. See Appendix 1 for details.
   • Efficiency of Summary Courts (November 2019) – Limited progress. See Appendix 2 for details.
4. The OAG has assessed progress with the 29 recommendations as: Not accepted – 1 (6%), implemented – 6 (21%), partly implemented or action is planned – 16 (55%), and no or limited progress – 6 (21%). See Exhibit 3 in the report.
5. Since our last report in February 2022, the Government tabled the Government Minutes for the following three reports in June 2022:
   • Report of the Office of the Auditor General on Follow-up on past PAC Recommendations 2021 – Report 1 (August 2021).
   • Report of the Office of the Auditor General on Improving Financial Accountability and Transparency: Financial Management and Reporting (May 2021).
   • Report of the Office of the Auditor General on Efficiency and Effectiveness of Summary Courts (November 2019).
6. As of the end of August 2022, the formal Government responses to the following six PAC reports continue to be late – see Exhibit 1 in the report. The date in brackets is when the PAC report was tabled in the House of Parliament:
   • Report on the Segregated Insurance Fund 2015/16 Accounts (6 September 2018).
   • Report on the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority 2015/16 Accounts (6 September 2018).
   • Report of the Information and Communications Technology Authority 2015/16 Accounts (22 November 2018).
   • Report of the Office of the Auditor General on Follow-Up of past PAC recommendations - October 2018 (10 April 2019).
   • Report of the Office of the Auditor General on Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) - June 2020 (12 December 2020).
   • Reports of the Office of the Auditor General on: (1) Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) Terminal Redevelopment Project – Progress Updates as at August 2018 - January 2019; (2) Financial Reporting of the Cayman Islands Government: General Report 2019 - December 2020; and (3) Improving Financial Accountability and Transparency: Budgeting - December 2020 (15 July 2021).
7. The Cabinet approved the Government Minutes for four reports in June 2022, to be tabled at the next sitting of the Parliament:
   • Reports of the Office of the Auditor General on: (1) Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) Terminal Redevelopment Project – Progress update as at August 2018 (January 2019); (2) Financial Reporting of the Cayman Islands Government: General Report 2019 (December 2020); and (3) Improving Financial Accountability and Transparency: Budgeting (December 2020).
   • Report of the Office of the Auditor General on Follow-up on past PAC recommendations (October 2018).
   • Report on the Segregated Insurance Fund 2015/16 Accounts.
   • Report on the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority 2015/16 Accounts.