By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

ATTEMPTS were made to broker a deal with a College of the Bahamas employee to pay back $12,000 that disappeared from the college, The Tribune understands.

However, the funds were not recovered despite efforts by officials to resolve the problem internally because the employee refused to reimburse the College, insiders told this newspaper.

While both the student union and the employee union have made several calls for answers, sources at COB question how such a large sum of money could have “just gone missing.”

“There has been a general consensus around town,” the insider said, “since it went public, that money paid against tuition is kept in a safe on campus. That is not the truth. But what is true and should be known is that all of the money, save for petty cash, is deposited to the bank every day. So someone needs to explain how this $12,000 could have just gone missing. It is not just pennies, it’s students and their parents’ hard earned money.”

So far the official word from authorities at the Commercial Crimes Unit is that investigations into the matter are still in the early phases.

Four unions, including the Public Managers Union, College of the Bahamas Union of Students, Union of Tertiary Educators of the Bahamas and the Bahamas Public Services Union are now reigniting calls for a forensic audit of COB’s books to take place.

In a statement, they called on officials to do the right thing to get to the bottom of the situation. But in the meantime they urged the College’s Vice President of Finances to step down until the probe has been completed.

“The audited financial statements (should) be tabled in the House of Assembly soon,” the statement said, “so that the Bahamian public can have a true accounting of what is taking place with their monies when they give it to the College – whether through donations, endowments, or tuition and fees.
“This forensic audit will only ensure that there are proper systems of checks and balances in place to guarantee that the student and public funds that go into supporting this institution are accounted for and that the College is being run by the best practices. 
“We call on the College officials to do the right thing.”

On Sunday, the issue was raised, with the unions urging COB officials not to sweep the matter under the rug.