Minister Ryan Straughn Responds to Auditor General's Report on Sam Lord's Castle Redevelopment Project
September 21, 2023
Minister Ryan Straughn responds to Auditor General's report on Sam Lord's Castle Redevelopment, stating that government did not breach financial rules but took the project off budget for other critical issues.
Minister in the ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs Ryan Straughn says Government did not breach any financial rules in the Sam Lord’s Castle Redevelopment project.
Straughn was responding to the Auditor General’s 2022 report, which indicated that the funds expended were millions in excess of what was recorded under the Assets Under Construction Account. The report stated that some of the associated funds, not being voted in the Estimates, contravenes “Rule 60 (1) of the Financial Rules which requires that all expenditure must be provided for in the Estimates”.
However, in an interview with the DAILY NATION yesterday, Straughn explained that upon coming to power, the Mia Amor Mottley administration, following discussions with the Chinese Exim Bank, decided to take the project off budget.
He explained that this was done at the time to give Government the fiscal space to deal with several mission critical issues, which included the south coast sewage spills.
