Contracts watchdog lashed for approval of wedding planner
Published:Thursday | March 24, 2022 | 12:10 AM
Director of investigations (DI) at the Integrity Commission, Kevon Stephenson, has chided the National Contracts Commission (NCC) for flouting its own procedures when it granted a ‘conditional approval’ to Elegant Weddings, Event Planning and Catering Limited for registration as a supplier of goods and services in 2017.
In a special report of investigation tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the Integrity Commission concluded that the circumstances surrounding the grant of ‘conditional approval’ were “irregular, highly subjective, and lacked transparency”.
The anti-corruption oversight body initiated an investigation in the wake of alleged irregularities in the registration process utilised by the NCC and the issuance of an ‘approved supplier of goods and services to the Government of Jamaica’ letter to Elegant Weddings, Event Planning and Catering Limited.
Stephenson said that his conclusion was underpinned by the fact that the NCC’s internal procedural guidelines neither recognised the process utilised in the grant of conditional approvals, nor were any records made as to how the endorsement was granted in this instance.
The commission reports that on January 5, 2017, the NCC received an application from Elegant Weddings, Event Planning and Catering Limited, for registration as a supplier of goods and services, in the categories of catering and general services.
“Notwithstanding Mr Raymond McIntyre’s assertions, that the board of commissioners of the NCC did not grant a conditional approval to Elegant Weddings, Event Planning and Catering Limited, the DI concludes that the board of commissioners approved the referenced company as a supplier of goods and services in the categories of catering and general services (specialising in event planning) on January 18, 2017, pending the receipt of the outstanding documents,” the report stated.
McIntyre is the chairman of the Public Procurement Commission.
Further, Stephenson reported that based on statements by Fiona McLaren, and Joeth Jones-Hall, former director of technical services division and former manager, goods and services, technical services division of the NCC, respectively, a letter of approval was not properly issued to the company for the period of January 18, 2017, to July 17, 2018.
Unfamiliar signature
He said that based on statements by McLaren and Jones-Hall and the transcript of a judicial hearing convened on October 23, 2018, involving Nicholas Gibson, supervisor at the NCC, the signature affixed to the letter was unfamiliar and bore no resemblance to that of any of the authorised officers.
Stephenson declared that the NCC failed to comply, in several instances, with its own internal procedures contained in the Goods and General Services Procedures (July 2018).
The Integrity Commission said that Elegant Weddings, Event Planning and Catering Limited was removed from the NCC’s list of approved contractors in 2018 as a result of the erroneous addition.
In his recommendations, the director of investigations urged the PPC to take conciliatory actions in respect of the removal of Elegant Weddings, Event Planning and Catering Limited from its list of approved contractors in the manner it was done in 2018.
The company was not reportedly advised of its removal from the NCC’s list of approved contractors.
Stephenson said that the error involving the addition of Elegant Weddings, Event Planning and Catering Limited to the NCC’s list of approved contractors, pending the submission of outstanding documents, resulted from internal deficiencies and not any act of omission on the part of the company.