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Board said to have uncovered unapproved contracts
BY INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, December 08, 2008
THE Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) board has uncovered at least two other contracts that, it said, the state-run bus company's late executive chairman, Douglas Chambers, entered into without the approval of directors, a source close to the Government has told the Observer.
According to the source, who asked not to be named, the board, in its report to Prime Minister Bruce Golding on contracts issued by the JUTC, said it found at an emergency meeting last week that Chambers approved a loan of $250,000 to a JUTC employee which it is believed was used to purchase a car that he (Chambers) was selling and had also approved payments of just under $500,000 for meals from a restaurant in which he had an interest.
"These are two contracts the board members uncovered in their emergency meeting and which they will be looking into," the source told the Observer.
According to the source, Chambers, in his role as executive chairman, was able to sign off on matters without seeking approval from the board.
"It is too powerful a position to appoint an executive chairman," the source said, adding that the Government should ensure that in the future State boards are not led by executive chairmen.
The source did not provide details of the two contracts. Instead, he queried why, if they did not know about it, the JUTC's Procurement Committee is being held responsible by the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) for not ensuring that contracts awarded to Simber Productions - a company in which Chambers had a majority stake - were "fair, transparent and impartial and that value for money was obtained by the JUTC".
According to the source, the procurement committee was not aware of the bus company's controversial contract with Simber Productions until after the agreement was in force.
This despite claims in the report to the prime minister, that the procurement committee met at least 10 times and not once as former board member Bindley Sangster led the contractor general to believe.
The source said when the matter first came to the board on February 27, the process was far advanced and Chambers was advised to proceed on the basis that only the associated cost of producing the service would be covered and he should not receive any benefits from the contract. The agreed amount was $750,000.
The board's claim is supported in Contractor General Greg Christie's report on his probe of the JUTC as it noted that Chambers' declaration of his stake in Simber was made approximately two weeks after the JUTC had already contracted the services of Simber on February 7 and 11.
"How could they have followed proper guidelines if they did not know of Simber?" the source asked. "Can a reasonable man be expected to prevent something he doesn't know about?"
The report to the prime minister, the source said, further revealed that the directors admitted to breaching a procurement process in respect of the interim contract entered into with Protection and Security Limited for security services, but said it was later approved by the National Contracts Committee (NCC).
The OCG report found that the board approved a month-by-month contract without ensuring that the requisite provisions were adhered to.
Golding had demanded the report from the board in response to the contractor general's accusation of procurement breaches by
the bus company's procurement committee.
According to the contractor general, Chambers and Sangster, who last Friday stepped down as a member of the board, falsified a report presented to him (Christie) in his investigation of
the award of contracts at the bus company.
Under the contract, a JUTC SmartCard feature was aired on The Susan Show hosted by Susan Simes, who was listed as Simber's only other shareholder. A JUTC commercial, and a 'Ride and Win Summer Bling' advertisement were also produced by Simber under the contract.
Christie's report pointed to a conflict of interest in the award since Chambers was a shareholder in Simber Productions. Christie also charged that Chambers lied when he claimed he was not the major shareholder in the company.
Chambers was murdered by gunmen on June 27 outside the JUTC depot in Spanish Town.
According to Christie, the contracts were awarded after an unsolicited offer was made by the JUTC to Simber and discussed at a February 1, 2008 meeting, convened and facilitated through Chambers' office.
He said that Simes, Simber Productions' managing director; Chambers; Lenworth Simms, the JUTC's sales and marketing manager; and another representative of Simber were the only ones present at the meeting.
Christie further stated that subsequent to that meeting, two unsigned quotations, dated February 7, from Simber, were signed and agreed upon by Simms.
According to our source, this begs the question as to why the amount later paid out to Simber, without the board's approval, was over $1.6 million instead of the quoted $750,000.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...UTC_DRAMA_.asp
BY INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, December 08, 2008
THE Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) board has uncovered at least two other contracts that, it said, the state-run bus company's late executive chairman, Douglas Chambers, entered into without the approval of directors, a source close to the Government has told the Observer.
According to the source, who asked not to be named, the board, in its report to Prime Minister Bruce Golding on contracts issued by the JUTC, said it found at an emergency meeting last week that Chambers approved a loan of $250,000 to a JUTC employee which it is believed was used to purchase a car that he (Chambers) was selling and had also approved payments of just under $500,000 for meals from a restaurant in which he had an interest.
"These are two contracts the board members uncovered in their emergency meeting and which they will be looking into," the source told the Observer.
According to the source, Chambers, in his role as executive chairman, was able to sign off on matters without seeking approval from the board.
"It is too powerful a position to appoint an executive chairman," the source said, adding that the Government should ensure that in the future State boards are not led by executive chairmen.
The source did not provide details of the two contracts. Instead, he queried why, if they did not know about it, the JUTC's Procurement Committee is being held responsible by the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) for not ensuring that contracts awarded to Simber Productions - a company in which Chambers had a majority stake - were "fair, transparent and impartial and that value for money was obtained by the JUTC".
According to the source, the procurement committee was not aware of the bus company's controversial contract with Simber Productions until after the agreement was in force.
This despite claims in the report to the prime minister, that the procurement committee met at least 10 times and not once as former board member Bindley Sangster led the contractor general to believe.
The source said when the matter first came to the board on February 27, the process was far advanced and Chambers was advised to proceed on the basis that only the associated cost of producing the service would be covered and he should not receive any benefits from the contract. The agreed amount was $750,000.
The board's claim is supported in Contractor General Greg Christie's report on his probe of the JUTC as it noted that Chambers' declaration of his stake in Simber was made approximately two weeks after the JUTC had already contracted the services of Simber on February 7 and 11.
"How could they have followed proper guidelines if they did not know of Simber?" the source asked. "Can a reasonable man be expected to prevent something he doesn't know about?"
The report to the prime minister, the source said, further revealed that the directors admitted to breaching a procurement process in respect of the interim contract entered into with Protection and Security Limited for security services, but said it was later approved by the National Contracts Committee (NCC).
The OCG report found that the board approved a month-by-month contract without ensuring that the requisite provisions were adhered to.
Golding had demanded the report from the board in response to the contractor general's accusation of procurement breaches by
the bus company's procurement committee.
According to the contractor general, Chambers and Sangster, who last Friday stepped down as a member of the board, falsified a report presented to him (Christie) in his investigation of
the award of contracts at the bus company.
Under the contract, a JUTC SmartCard feature was aired on The Susan Show hosted by Susan Simes, who was listed as Simber's only other shareholder. A JUTC commercial, and a 'Ride and Win Summer Bling' advertisement were also produced by Simber under the contract.
Christie's report pointed to a conflict of interest in the award since Chambers was a shareholder in Simber Productions. Christie also charged that Chambers lied when he claimed he was not the major shareholder in the company.
Chambers was murdered by gunmen on June 27 outside the JUTC depot in Spanish Town.
According to Christie, the contracts were awarded after an unsolicited offer was made by the JUTC to Simber and discussed at a February 1, 2008 meeting, convened and facilitated through Chambers' office.
He said that Simes, Simber Productions' managing director; Chambers; Lenworth Simms, the JUTC's sales and marketing manager; and another representative of Simber were the only ones present at the meeting.
Christie further stated that subsequent to that meeting, two unsigned quotations, dated February 7, from Simber, were signed and agreed upon by Simms.
According to our source, this begs the question as to why the amount later paid out to Simber, without the board's approval, was over $1.6 million instead of the quoted $750,000.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...UTC_DRAMA_.asp
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