The recently released auditors’ report confirms three enormous concerns within the Department of Environmental Health: the garbage accumulating on curbsides and in dumpsters; the department’s $2 million in overspending on overtime pay in the 2016/17 budget; and the public statements at the ministerial level that consistently downplayed departmental problems, even while internal auditors were discovering and reporting them.
Let’s review:
In late 2017, the department – responsible for solid waste collection and the Cayman Islands’ landfills – ran out of money to pay salaries with two months left in the year. The Ministry of Health, Environment, Culture and Housing – led by Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn – asked internal auditors to investigate.
At the beginning of 2018, in response to inquiries about the conspicuous absence of DEH Director Roydell Carter, Ms. Ahearn issued a brief statement: “Contrary to reports in the media, DEH Director Roydell Carter has not been suspended and there are no funds unaccounted for at DEH.”
The first phase of the internal audit review, issued in February, concluded: “Ultimately, the [DEH Director Carter] had the responsibility of managing the…
