Former CMU worker details university’s accounting, banking systems

A former senior member of staff of the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) is expected to continue testimony regarding the school's finances on Wednesday, with information on the now-defunct CAP-YES programme, in the fraud trial of former CMU boss Fritz Pinnock along with former education minister Ruel Reid and their co-accused. The witness, appearing before Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday, testified how money came into and left certain bank accounts controlled by the university between 2016 and 2019, including accounts for payroll, CAP (Career Advancement Programme) and CAPYES (Career Advancement Programme - Youth Empowerment Services) programme, among others. The department in which they worked was guided by the FAA (Financial Administration and Audit Act) and PBMA ( The Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act), the witness said, adding that it oversaw payroll, including salary deductions for CMU employees; accounts receivable, which dealt with collecting money owed to the school; and accounts payable, which dealt with any money the school owed to vendors or debt obligations.

While testifying, the witness indicated that the weekly accounts payable process included the submission of documentation verifying the debt obligation, which would be entered on CMUs system and included in an aged payables report. Any vendors to be paid by the school would then be selected from that report. When pressed on what type of vendors this included, the witness listed utility entities, suppliers of goods to the school's tuck shop and others undertaking special projects.

The witness also told the court that the school received a monthly subvention from the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Education that was deposited to a specific bank account. When asked where that subvention was funded from, to their understanding, the witness said “from taxes”. That account, the witness said, was used as a flow-through to other bank accounts, including payroll accounts.

The witness also touched on the operations of the school's canteen or tuck shop, which had multiple accounts associated with it. The witness testified that cash proceeds would be deposited into the accounts and canteen vendors paid from it, adding that when enough cash was not in the account to pay vendors, the canteen would be provided with an ad…