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Local Government Minister Dean Peart is under pressure to issue a public apology and tender his resignation in the wake of Tuesday’s revelation that there was a foul-up in the <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 600; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,Arial; POSITION: relative">probe</SPAN> of some Parish Councils.
<SPAN class=news_body><SPAN>Parish Councils which came under fire earlier this month for alleged <SPAN id="clicksor_sp_procedural breaches" onmouseover='return ClxLaD("procedural breaches",event)' onmouseout='ClxTMo("procedural breaches")'>procedural breaches</SPAN> have now turned the tables on the Local Government Minister. The Council Heads are demanding their pound of flesh.</SPAN>
Tuesday, Mr. Peart admitted that some transactions by three Parish Councils singled out in recent audits as breaches of the contract procurement guidelines were in fact above board.
He told Parliament that the internal auditors who carried out audits of the St. Mary, St. Catherine and Westmoreland Parish Councils were not properly guided.
Mr. Peart's explanation has not appeased <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,Arial; POSITION: relative">Jamaica</SPAN> Labour Party (JLP) Mayors whose Councils were placed under the spotlight.
They are insisting that the Local Government Minister issue an immediate apology.
Chairman of the St. Mary Parish Council, Bobby Montaque, who was blasted by the Local Government Ministry after his Council was cited for breaches, has gone a step further by demanding that Mr. Peart step down over the bungled probe.
Mr. Montaque, who is also the Spokesman for JLP Mayors, says the Local Government Minister's competence has been brought into question.
<SPAN>During his address to Parliament Tuesday Mr. Peart said the auditors were not aware of a 2001 Cabinet decision that <SPAN id="clicksor_sp_contracts valuing" onmouseover='return ClxLaD("contracts valuing",event)' onmouseout='ClxTMo("contracts valuing")'><A id=clicksor style="COLOR: #99cc33;
<SPAN class=news_body><SPAN>Parish Councils which came under fire earlier this month for alleged <SPAN id="clicksor_sp_procedural breaches" onmouseover='return ClxLaD("procedural breaches",event)' onmouseout='ClxTMo("procedural breaches")'>procedural breaches</SPAN> have now turned the tables on the Local Government Minister. The Council Heads are demanding their pound of flesh.</SPAN>
Tuesday, Mr. Peart admitted that some transactions by three Parish Councils singled out in recent audits as breaches of the contract procurement guidelines were in fact above board.
He told Parliament that the internal auditors who carried out audits of the St. Mary, St. Catherine and Westmoreland Parish Councils were not properly guided.
Mr. Peart's explanation has not appeased <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,Arial; POSITION: relative">Jamaica</SPAN> Labour Party (JLP) Mayors whose Councils were placed under the spotlight.
They are insisting that the Local Government Minister issue an immediate apology.
Chairman of the St. Mary Parish Council, Bobby Montaque, who was blasted by the Local Government Ministry after his Council was cited for breaches, has gone a step further by demanding that Mr. Peart step down over the bungled probe.
Mr. Montaque, who is also the Spokesman for JLP Mayors, says the Local Government Minister's competence has been brought into question.
<SPAN>During his address to Parliament Tuesday Mr. Peart said the auditors were not aware of a 2001 Cabinet decision that <SPAN id="clicksor_sp_contracts valuing" onmouseover='return ClxLaD("contracts valuing",event)' onmouseout='ClxTMo("contracts valuing")'><A id=clicksor style="COLOR: #99cc33;
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