return code 77 (permission denied) issue

[triple7]

Got the project embedded, sqlite custom in target and linked .a file. I also downloaded the latest sqlite3 zip and replaced the make and related files in the sqlite3 folder of the project. I get several errors, but the one that sticks like a sore thumb is:
Amalgamation (1 issue)
shell script invocation error
Command /bin/sh failed with exit code 77

[triple7]

Any pointer as to what the problem is? Running on Xcode 10.x public release swift 4.x. I tried running bare as cloned from GitHub and integrated into the project but still no go, same error message