PM to make statement on OCG de-bushing probe report

Information Minister Senator Ruel Reid says Prime Minister Andrew Holness is to respond to the report of the probe by the Office of Contractor General (OCG) into the controversial $800 million de-bushing project.

Senator Reid says Prime Minister Holness will address the matter in a statement in Parliament.

He did not indicate when it will happen.

Senator Reid, who is acting leader of government business in the Senate, made the disclosure while brushing aside remarks by opposition Senator Lambert Brown in his contribution to the debate on the Integrity Commission Act in the Upper House yesterday.

The OCG report was tabled in the Senate yesterday but was laid in the House of Representatives last week.

The report states that the de-bushing project was a deviation from government guidelines and that the selection of the five contractors by the Cabinet lacked transparency and accountability. 

Contractor General, Dirk Harrison, also concluded that three government ministers may have lied about their role in selecting contractors, subcontractors and setting payment terms in the execution of the project.

Senator Brown argued that when the Cabinet of the country breaks the law it tells Jamaicans about how serious the government is about fighting corruption.

He said the OCG’s report must be discussed in Parliament.