Mayors admit breaches
May 16, 2006
THE KINGSTON and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) and the Portmore Municipal Council admitted to and apologised yester-day for breaching procurement procedures associated with the awarding of contracts.
The apologies come on the heels of findings from special investiga-tions conducted by the Contractor General which found the local authorities broke the rules.
The probes, which were commis-sioned by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller while she was Minister of Local Government, were also carried out into the procurement affairs of the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) and the Social Development Commission (SDC).
A statement posted on the Office of the Contractor General's website said that one of the reports had been forwarded to the Auditor General with a recommendation for action. The statement also revealed that "certain additional recommendations have also been submitted to the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General".
Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie, while speaking at a press briefing at the KSAC's Church Street offices yesterday, confessed that the practice of breaching procurement protocol had become "institutionalised" at the local authority over the years and predates his administration.
"As I said before, it is still no excuse for not complying. We have done so, and if I said we are sorry, we are sorry ..." he stressed.
He added: "Let me state clearly that we recognise, let me repeat, that we recognise that we have failed to follow the procurement procedure as fully as necessary."
GENUINE ERRORS...
Author: Tyrone Reid
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
