Audit Shows $800K+ Deficit for 2023 CARIFTA Games

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The 23-page CARIFTA50 Audit was tabled in the House of Assembly Wednesday morning.

It details key findings from the 2023 CARIFTA Games that were held here in The Bahamas. It covered the period from September 1st, 2022 to April 30th, 2023 and was conducted by Auditor General Terrance Bastian.

The audit found documents presented did not indicate the 2023 CARIFTA Games company was registered correctly, the local organizing committee did not always keep invoices and the events organization agreement was not signed.

As it relates to contracts, according to the audit: there was a breach in contract agreements and stipulations related to employees, vendors and sponsorship agreements.

And that’s not all. The audit said senior director and other employee contracts were not certified. 

As it relates to money, the audit also found temporary personnel were assigned tasks unrelated to the games resulting in a 38% increase in weekly salaries and purchasing, procurement and allocation of funds policies were not adhered to.

When it came to adherence to the CARIFTA Games budget, the audit says there was no evidence of agreed-upon budgetary adjustments.

There was a deficit of more than $829,000 at the end.

I reached out to the 2023 CARIFTA Games’ Local Organizing Committee Chief Executive Officer Lynden Maycock. Here’s what he had to say about the audit’s findings.

The games were held from April 7th through 10th at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium featuring over 600 athletes from 28 countries.