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JLP backs Hibbert - Company involved in bribery with minister expected to plead guilty
Published: Friday | July 10, 2009
Joseph Hibbert (left) in Parliament with Ernie Smith. - File
State Minister in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Joseph Hibbert, continues to enjoy solid support from the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the face of reports that a high-powered construction firm is today set to plead guilty to bribing public officials in Jamaica and Ghana.
Hibbert was linked to the case last year when officials from the United Kingdom (UK) travelled to Jamaica as part of their investigation.
At the same time, Hibbert's lead attorney, Ernie Smith, argued that the information supplied to him from investigators, which claims that up to £1 million changed hands, does not link his client to any form of misdeed.
jlp undaunted
A report in the UK's Financial Times reawakened local interest in the bribery probe when it stated that the British-based construction firm Mabey and Johnson will be going before the court today and is expected to plead guilty to bribery charges.
However, if the words of JLP General Secretary Karl Samuda, a senior government minister, are anything to go by, the Bruce Golding administration is undaunted by the latest development.
"We have absolutely no reason to think that he (Hibbert) is guilty," Samuda told The Gleaner. "I would not attempt to comment much more without any additional information."
Smith was even more vehement in his pronouncements. He referred to a payment card from which investi-gators reportedly based their allegations.
"The payment card, a copy of which was sent to us, made reference to monies paid to Mr Hibbert. He knows nothing about payment of over a million pounds to which they have alleged."
Smith said he has asked the investigators to verify who are the holders of the account and who established the account involved in the alleged transactions.
"What they have are some payments made to cover some out-of-pocket expense when Mr Hibbert and other officials of the ministry travelled to England, including the cost of the airline tickets for the persons who travelled."
Accepted norm
Smith asserted that it was an accepted fact that when ministry officials travel overseas to verify the capacity of a contractor in the contractor's country, the contractor pays travelling, accommodation and out-of-pocket expenses.
"I do not know if this is what they are regarding as a bribe," he said. "This could not be a bribe because, as recently as 2007, other public officials travelled to England in respect of the same country and the out-of-pocket expenses were paid by the same company."
Last year, investigators out of the UK, supported by local police personnel, descended on Hibbert's house and confiscated computers and personal items belonging to the junior minister, prompting calls by the parliamentary Opposition for his dismissal.
However, Prime Minister Bruce Golding said he had no evidence to boot Hibbert, who brought home the competitive East Rural St Andrew seat for the JLP in 2002 and 2007.
The Financial Times report stated that the case relating to Mabey and Johnson, which makes bridges based on the portable Bailey crossing used by Allied troops during World War II, could become a model for future deals between investigators and corporations accused of paying bribes to win contracts abroad.
The article stated that the proceedings, which are due to come to court today, are the first significant fruits of attempts to counter severe global criticism of Britain's anti-bribery efforts.
Published: Friday | July 10, 2009
Joseph Hibbert (left) in Parliament with Ernie Smith. - File
State Minister in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Joseph Hibbert, continues to enjoy solid support from the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the face of reports that a high-powered construction firm is today set to plead guilty to bribing public officials in Jamaica and Ghana.
Hibbert was linked to the case last year when officials from the United Kingdom (UK) travelled to Jamaica as part of their investigation.
At the same time, Hibbert's lead attorney, Ernie Smith, argued that the information supplied to him from investigators, which claims that up to £1 million changed hands, does not link his client to any form of misdeed.
jlp undaunted
A report in the UK's Financial Times reawakened local interest in the bribery probe when it stated that the British-based construction firm Mabey and Johnson will be going before the court today and is expected to plead guilty to bribery charges.
However, if the words of JLP General Secretary Karl Samuda, a senior government minister, are anything to go by, the Bruce Golding administration is undaunted by the latest development.
"We have absolutely no reason to think that he (Hibbert) is guilty," Samuda told The Gleaner. "I would not attempt to comment much more without any additional information."
Smith was even more vehement in his pronouncements. He referred to a payment card from which investi-gators reportedly based their allegations.
"The payment card, a copy of which was sent to us, made reference to monies paid to Mr Hibbert. He knows nothing about payment of over a million pounds to which they have alleged."
Smith said he has asked the investigators to verify who are the holders of the account and who established the account involved in the alleged transactions.
"What they have are some payments made to cover some out-of-pocket expense when Mr Hibbert and other officials of the ministry travelled to England, including the cost of the airline tickets for the persons who travelled."
Accepted norm
Smith asserted that it was an accepted fact that when ministry officials travel overseas to verify the capacity of a contractor in the contractor's country, the contractor pays travelling, accommodation and out-of-pocket expenses.
"I do not know if this is what they are regarding as a bribe," he said. "This could not be a bribe because, as recently as 2007, other public officials travelled to England in respect of the same country and the out-of-pocket expenses were paid by the same company."
Last year, investigators out of the UK, supported by local police personnel, descended on Hibbert's house and confiscated computers and personal items belonging to the junior minister, prompting calls by the parliamentary Opposition for his dismissal.
However, Prime Minister Bruce Golding said he had no evidence to boot Hibbert, who brought home the competitive East Rural St Andrew seat for the JLP in 2002 and 2007.
The Financial Times report stated that the case relating to Mabey and Johnson, which makes bridges based on the portable Bailey crossing used by Allied troops during World War II, could become a model for future deals between investigators and corporations accused of paying bribes to win contracts abroad.
The article stated that the proceedings, which are due to come to court today, are the first significant fruits of attempts to counter severe global criticism of Britain's anti-bribery efforts.
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