Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Dunstan Bryan has stressed that he will stand by actions taken by the ministry, during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This following an audit, by Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis, which highlighted concerns about how the ministry procured hotels for use as quarantine areas during the Covid pandemic.

She noted that there is significant room for improvement, in the accountability and governance processes, at the health ministry.

Speaking at Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee meeting on Tuesday on the ministry’s Covid-19 expenditure and its general performance, the auditor general referred to the monies spent to procure hotel services during the pandemic.

She highlighted that purchase orders were used by the ministry to procure the hotel rooms, as opposed to contracts.

This she noted was not in compliance with the regulations.

The auditor general said there were other anomalies discovered in how the hotel facilities were procured.

In response, Mr. Bryan said he acted in the interest of the country, and challenged the auditor general to outline the laws which were broken by the ministry.

According to Mr. Bryan the AG‘s report was sub–par and offensive.