‘Done in good faith’

Prime Minister Andrew Holness late Wednesday denied influencing the 2006 procurement process for Christmas work in his St Andrew West Central constituency, which resulted in the award of millions of dollars in government contracts to a business associate.

Insisting that his recommendation was “done in good faith”, Holness also said that he has referred to his attorneys the Integrity Commission’s report implicating him in a possible conflict of interest.

“In my response to the Integrity Commission queries of these dated matters, I made it absolutely clear that at no time have I ever exercised influence on any process for the award of contracts,” said Holness in a statement released by his office hours after he left the island for the CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in The Bahamas.

“I strongly disagree with the findings of the Integrity Commission regarding conflict of interest based on mere association,” he asserted.

The commission, in a 107-page report, said that it had referred the document to its director of corruption prosecution for consideration with respect to breaches of the Contractor General Act, the Public Sector Procurement Regulations 2008, the Corruption (Prevention) Act, and/or any other applicable law.

The report detailed the findings of an investigation into the award of more than 40 government contracts totalling approximately $57 million to Westcon Construction Limited, whose directors were Robert Garvin and Donovan Simpson.

The company has since been removed from the Companies Office of Jamaica database.

Holness admitted to knowing the two men for more than 20 years but said that only Garvin is known to him “personally”.

The Gleaner contacted Garvin on Wednesday for comment, but the call ended abruptly after this reporter identified herself.

Westcon was awarded contracts through the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MOEYI) when Holness served as portfolio minister; the Social Development Commission (SDC); and the National Works Agency (NWA).

The report said 10 contracts were awarded to the company through the MOEYI, totalling $21.8 million. Five were reported to the Office of the Contractor General by way of the MOEYI’s quarterly contract award (QCA) reports for the period.

The NWA awarded 34 contracts to the company totalling $33.7 million. The report said 26 fell within the value threshold, which required the NWA to submit particulars of the contracts to the then contractor general by way of its QCA reports. Six were reported.

Two contracts were awarded through the SDC to Westcon totalling $370,000 and $1.4 million. Both were reported to the OCG, but there was no evidence of the SDC utilising formal tender procedures for the procurement, the report said.

The report said Westcon Construction Limited was recommended in a letter dated December 20, 2007, and authored by Holness for the award of contract in the amount of $1.45 million for works in St Andrew West Central relating to the 2007 Christmas Work Programme.

On September 23, 2009, Holness again wrote to the SDC, advising the entity that Garvin was employed as the project manager under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in St Andrew West Central. Subsequent invoices were provided to the SDC requiring that payment be made to Garvin in care of Westcon Construction Limited.

“The failure of agencies to comply with various procurement rules cannot be attributed to me in any capacity, and we note that the report does not make such a conclusion,” said Holness in his statement.

The report said that Garvin had been employed both in Holness’ constituency and his personal business.

Garvin was also a director in the Positive Jamaica Foundation Limited, where Holness remains a director.

Garvin, Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, and Warren Vernon were noted as ceased directors as at November 1, 2016.

Both Holness and Garvin were also listed as directors of Sunshine Mobile Company, for which the core business activity was the provision of transportation consultancy.

Garvin was also listed as a ceased director as at November 1, 2016, in the company West Central Saint Andrew Trust, for which Holness was listed as a director.

Both Garvin and Juliet Holness, the member of parliament for St Andrew East Rural and the prime minister’s wife, were listed as directors of the company Omega Bridge Finance, for which the core business activity recorded was investments.

The prime minister ceased being a director in that company in September 2007 and is listed as a shareholder together with Garvin.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding said that he was appalled by the “unprecedented news” that the prime minister has been referred to the director of corruption prosecution for possible charges in a multimillion-dollar corruption probe.

“This revelation exposes the country to international embarrassment,” Golding declared in a statement on Wednesday.

Golding said that the head of Government should be beyond reproach and argued that it was “unacceptable” that Holness has been besmirched by accusations of impropriety.

“That the country’s principal integrity and anti-corruption body has found sufficient evidence to refer our prime minister for potential prosecution places Jamaica in an untenable position,” said Golding.

But Holness, who “strongly disagreed with some of the findings”, said that it has been the longstanding practice that members of parliament are asked to recommend local contractors to undertake works in their constituencies.

He said that the practice was introduced during the 1990s and has continued across several administrations.

Further, he said that it is also the practice that constituency project officers for the CDF are recommended by the member of parliament.

“It is not unusual that CDF projects officers are persons who are already working in the constituency organisation and are associated with the MP. I am certain that a review of local works and CDF projects officers will find that MP recommendations feature significantly in a vast number of them, and this has never been cited as exercising undue influence,” the prime minister said.

Holness said that the Integrity Commission’s report also ignores the circumstances of an emergency, where in 2008, the Christmas Work programme was late in starting and workers faced a high probability of not being paid.

“I was asked to recommend an entity to facilitate payment of the Christmas Work Programme before the close of business for the Christmas holidays. This was done in good faith. To see this being targeted and made into something it is not is gravely disappointing,” he said.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com