Former Lucea mayor caught in another probe

A probe by the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) has found several breaches in relation to the sale of a motor vehicle to former Mayor of Lucea Shernet Haughton.

The 2009 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado which was assigned to her was sold to her in 2014.

However,  the OCG says the process utilised by the Hanover Parish Council to dispose of the government issued vehicle shows impropriety and irregularity on the part of the principal accountable officer, Judy McKenzie-Lawrence, who was the then Secretary Manager.

It says the Hanover Parish Council breached requirements of the Revised Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Policy for the Public Sector, as the vehicle was sold by way of closed auction, but made only available to its employees.

The OCG says a closed auction should be made open to all Government employees.

The OCG also says Haughton was ineligible to submit a bid for the vehicle as she had been employed to the Hanover Parish Council as Mayor for only two years and she should only have been able to bid after three years.

The OCG has referred its Special Report to the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development and the Ministry of Finance and Public Service for them to determine whether there should be sanctions for the breaches.

Haughton is currently before the court in relation to another OCG probe which alleged that she used her position as mayor to give government contracts to family members and associates.