Government falls behind with bill payments

FRIDAY DEC. 9: Contractors are waiting months for Government to pay its bills — because a new payments system has not been working properly.

One businessman said he had outstanding accounts dating as far back as September, with several Government departments.

He added: “I wondered what was going on and chased them up — I was told there a problem with a new system they’re implementing and that people aren’t getting paid at the moment.

Owed thousands

“I’m owed tens of thousands of dollars. I’m not a bank — I can’t wait months and months to be paid and it seems to be happening across Government.”

A Government spokesman told us initial problems with a new payment system have now been resolved.

The city businessman we spoke to, who asked not to be named, said:

“Something like this could put someone out of business — and if it doesn’t do that, an order could come along they can’t finance because a company needs working capital.

“It depends on your working capital — I’m all right but some suppliers might not be so lucky. But no one can hold on to receivables for ever.”

He added: “Only one Government department which owes us money apologized and offered some kind of explanation.

“Normally, when you hear that people aren’t paying their bills, it sounds like the debtor is going bankrupt. But this is the Government and it’s just not acceptable to be just told ‘we can’t pay our bills just now’.

“If there is an issue, they should be going to the vendors and explaining exactly what’s going on.”

When approached about the problem yesterday, Premier and Finance Minister Paula Cox told the Bermuda Sun: “There are always some wrinkles — but they are working to sort it out. There have been some issues and there is a dedicated team to sort them out.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Finance said a new payments system had been introduced at the start of last month, with some payments being made on November 4.

He added: “As with any new system implementation, some teething issues arose related to our payments processes — which delayed some payments.

“These issues have now been resolved such that payments can be made. We continue to work to refine the system.

“There is a learning curve as employees become more comfortable with the new system. However, departments are now able to authorize payments at the department level.

“Once payments are authorized and submitted to the Accountant General’s department the Accountant General’s Office make electronic payments to the bank within five business days.”

He added: “In summary, the system is functioning and we continue to work to address any concerns that may arise.”

The spokesman added that any supplier who had not been paid within a reasonable time should contact the relevant Government department for advice. We went back to the businessman with the government’s response and he told us: “I supplied my bank account details [to government] months ago. I suspect that the ‘some payments’ processed on November 4 were very few. That was over a month ago and I still haven’t been paid.”

Buddy Rego, president of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, said he was not aware of the problem but would raise it at the next meeting of the Chamber.