Review of Choiseul Village Council Holds Former Rep and Village Clerk Accountable - Part 4

This part deals with the Moroccan Funds that was slated for the construction of the Mini Stadium

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PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL

This is a violation of the principle, that Members of Council should not use their power and

influence on Councils to further their personal interest. 

ii. Alleged Misappropriation of Moroccan Funds

The  Choiseul Village Council received via wire transfer on the 5th October 2010, from the

Morocco government the sum of Eight Hundred and Six Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy

Eight Dollars and Thirty Eight Cents ($806,378.38) for the purpose of constructing a mini stadium

at La Fargue. These monies were deposited in BOSL Account No.901215802, the same account

in which funds from the Taiwanese Government was deposited.

According to records at the Council and further confirmation by Clerk of Council, a total amount

of forty-four thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars ($44,750.00) has already been spent for

topographic survey, architectural, civil and structural engineering fees. Consequently, there should

be a balance of Seven Hundred and Sixty-one Thousand, Six Hundred and Twenty-eight Dollars

and Thirty-eight Cents ($761,628.38) of Moroccan Funds on the bank account.

It was duly noted that the balance on the said bank account as at 31st December 2011 was only

five hundred and fifty-nine thousand, four hundred and ninety-six dollars and four cents

($559,496.04). If the balance is only Moroccan funds there is a difference of two hundred and two

thousand one hundred and thirty-two dollars and thirty-four cents ($202,132.34).

This shows that an amount of two hundred and two thousand one hundred and thirty-two dollars

and thirty-four cents ($202,132.34) was spent from the Morocco funds for purposes other than

“Construction of the Mini Stadium at La Fargue”.

This discrepancy will affect the future implementation of the project as funds will have to come

from other sources to enable successful implementation. 

iii. Failure to Account for Foreign Currency Grants

Regulation 48 of the Financial Regulations – Section 54, Finance (Administration) Act, Revised

Laws of St. Lucia, 2005 stipulates the following:

Whenever an officer or a person other than the Accountant General, a subaccountant or a collector of revenue receives public money he or she shall as

soon as possible pay it to the Accountant General or a sub-accountant or a

collector of revenue and obtain a receipt for it.

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According to records at the Council and confirmed by Clerk-of-Council, Council received the

following amounts from Former Parliamentary Representative, Rufus Bousquet, in the form of

foreign-currency cheques during 2011:

Date                             Name of Drawer                                  Cheque No.                            Amount

20/01/2011           United Nations                                       1036292                           $US 10,000.00

                             Federal  Credit Union

 11/02/2011         United Nations                                        1037086                          $US 10,000.00

                            Federal  Credit Union

19/04/2011          United Nations                                        1039359                            $US 7,500.00

                            Federal  Credit Union

14/06/2011         Consulate General of                          Credit Transfer (18978)           $US 28,000.00

                           the Republic of Kosovo

                            in New York

Total                                                                                                                              $US 55,500.00

When we interviewed Clerk of Council on that matter, she explained that all the foreign currency

cheques  were  received and  deposited in the  BOSL  bank  account  (# 901215802)  by Former

Parliamentary Representative and Former Minister of External Affairs, Rufus Bousquet. She was

only informed of receipt of the funds by the Former Parliamentary Representative and that the

Former Parliamentary Representative never revealed the source of the funds to her.

However, examination of electronic copies of relevant deposit slips submitted by BOSL revealed

that US cheques 1036292, 1037086, 1039359  and 18978 were deposited by Clerk of Council,

Williana St Rose and not Former Parliamentary Representative and Former Minister of External

Affairs, Rufus Bousquet.

We examined relevant bank statements to ensure that these funds were indeed deposited in the said

bank account. We were able to trace all the foreign currency cheque deposits in the bank account

except cheque no.18978 dated 28/06/2011 for $US28,000.00. However, we noticed a credit was

made to the account in the form of a “credit advice” on 12/09/2011. The “credit advice” was in the

amount of $75,219.60, $50.00 (bank charges) below the Eastern Caribbean Dollar equivalent of

$US28,000.00. We note that proceeds of the said cheque was credited to the Council’s bank

account, seventy-three (73) days after the foreign currency cheque  was reported to have been

received. 

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These foreign currency cheques were never paid into the Accountant General as required by the

Financial Regulations and all the amounts mentioned above were fully disbursed as part of total

disbursements made from the bank account of the Council for the period. In addition, the source

of the funds as it pertains to the cheques from the United Nations Federal Credit Union is still

remains unknown.

The above is a clear violation of Financial Regulations 48 and poises serious questions about the

integrity of source of funds." 

Check for the Recommendations on Saturday.
Editor's note: Pics of Morocco's Foreign Minister and building of the United Nations Federal Credit Union are not part of the review.