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Damion Mitchell, [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]News[/COLOR][/COLOR] Editor
The Gleaner/Power 106 News Centre
Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis has uncovered serious breaches under the controversial US$400 million Jamaica Development [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Infrastructure[/COLOR][/COLOR] Programme (JDIP).
The Opposition has been insisting for months that there were questionable undertakings through the JDIP while the Government maintained that the project was transparent.
However, the Auditor General’s report on the JDIP was tabled in Parliament today and it reveals a litany of wrongdoing on the Government’s part.
The auditor general has outlined 12 adverse findings in her probe.
More from the report of Jamaica's auditor general:
Auditor general concerned about Christiana Road irregularities
The report:
Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme(JDIP) Special Audit Report
From unaccounted spending to unapproved spending, and the withholding of information from the auditors, the report indicates deep concern about the JDIP.
In the first place, Monroe Ellis said her team found that the Road Maintenance Fund could not identify any work to account for a $23.2 million dollar road project, which the National Works Agency (NWA) had certified as being satisfactorily completed.
At the same time, she found that the NWA used $102 million in JDIP money to refurbish its offices.
According to the auditor general, the contract for the refurbishing was not approved by the National Contracts Commission (NCC).
In fact, the contract was not put to tender and so the auditor general said the NWA cannot determine if the project was value for money.
At the same time, Monroe Ellis has found that the required contractor’s [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]tax[/COLOR][/COLOR] of $2 million was not deducted and sent to the Tax Department.
Like it was in deciding on the contractor for the NWA refurbishing project, the auditor general found that the JDIP contract itself was not put to tender and the Ministry of Transport and Works used the sole source procurement method to engage China Harbour Engineering Company.
According to the auditor general, this may have deprived the Government of the ability to achieve value for money and maintain transparency and fairness in the process.
She also said she found that there is no contractual [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]relationship[/COLOR][/COLOR] between the Government and the sub-contractor.
According to the Monroe Ellis, the NWA had a contract with China Harbour to select grade one sub-[COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]contractors[/COLOR][/COLOR] for general works once these contractors were approved by the NCC.
However, the issue arose where grade two and grade three contractors also received sub-contracts from China Harbour.
Another adverse finding was the absence of adequate records, which the auditor general said limited her ability to assess the transparency of the transport ministry and NWA in selecting JDIP projects.
She said the NWA also failed to provide documents relating to the negotiation of individual contracts.
Meanwhile, the public auditors say the NWA failed to properly monitor the JDIP project.
For example, the auditor general said the NWA did not monitor 25 of the 77 active projects during the quarter of January to March 2011.
At the same time, bridges which were being stored under the Mabey and Johnson Bridge programme were being used on the JDIP.
There was no documentation to say how the use of these bridges would affect the final JDIP [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]cost[/COLOR][/COLOR].
damion.mitchell@gleanerjm.com
The Gleaner/Power 106 News Centre
Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis has uncovered serious breaches under the controversial US$400 million Jamaica Development [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Infrastructure[/COLOR][/COLOR] Programme (JDIP).
The Opposition has been insisting for months that there were questionable undertakings through the JDIP while the Government maintained that the project was transparent.
However, the Auditor General’s report on the JDIP was tabled in Parliament today and it reveals a litany of wrongdoing on the Government’s part.
The auditor general has outlined 12 adverse findings in her probe.
More from the report of Jamaica's auditor general:
Auditor general concerned about Christiana Road irregularities
The report:
Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme(JDIP) Special Audit Report
From unaccounted spending to unapproved spending, and the withholding of information from the auditors, the report indicates deep concern about the JDIP.
In the first place, Monroe Ellis said her team found that the Road Maintenance Fund could not identify any work to account for a $23.2 million dollar road project, which the National Works Agency (NWA) had certified as being satisfactorily completed.
At the same time, she found that the NWA used $102 million in JDIP money to refurbish its offices.
According to the auditor general, the contract for the refurbishing was not approved by the National Contracts Commission (NCC).
In fact, the contract was not put to tender and so the auditor general said the NWA cannot determine if the project was value for money.
At the same time, Monroe Ellis has found that the required contractor’s [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]tax[/COLOR][/COLOR] of $2 million was not deducted and sent to the Tax Department.
Like it was in deciding on the contractor for the NWA refurbishing project, the auditor general found that the JDIP contract itself was not put to tender and the Ministry of Transport and Works used the sole source procurement method to engage China Harbour Engineering Company.
According to the auditor general, this may have deprived the Government of the ability to achieve value for money and maintain transparency and fairness in the process.
She also said she found that there is no contractual [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]relationship[/COLOR][/COLOR] between the Government and the sub-contractor.
According to the Monroe Ellis, the NWA had a contract with China Harbour to select grade one sub-[COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]contractors[/COLOR][/COLOR] for general works once these contractors were approved by the NCC.
However, the issue arose where grade two and grade three contractors also received sub-contracts from China Harbour.
Another adverse finding was the absence of adequate records, which the auditor general said limited her ability to assess the transparency of the transport ministry and NWA in selecting JDIP projects.
She said the NWA also failed to provide documents relating to the negotiation of individual contracts.
Meanwhile, the public auditors say the NWA failed to properly monitor the JDIP project.
For example, the auditor general said the NWA did not monitor 25 of the 77 active projects during the quarter of January to March 2011.
At the same time, bridges which were being stored under the Mabey and Johnson Bridge programme were being used on the JDIP.
There was no documentation to say how the use of these bridges would affect the final JDIP [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]cost[/COLOR][/COLOR].
damion.mitchell@gleanerjm.com
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