Police, Integrity Commission can probe Operation Pride spend – Morgan
Published:Friday | October 28, 2022 | 12:08 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
The Government has suggested that the police or the Integrity Commission could investigate reports of impropriety in the running of the Operation Pride project under which approximately $8 billion has reportedly not been accounted for.
The allegations of the missing funds were put forward by Juliet Holness, the member of parliament for St Andrew East Rural, on Sunday.
Holness, who was speaking to Jamaica Labour Party supporters at a divisional meeting, said that the programme, introduced by the former P.J. Patterson administration with the aim of resolving the shelter needs of low-income nationals, is said to have cost taxpayers $16 billion, but noted that an audit revealed that only approximately $8 billion has been accounted for.
She said that there are some 100 unfinished Operation Pride settlements.
De facto Information Minister Robert Morgan on Wednesday noted that there have been several investigations into the matter, but they fizzled because of issues with participants.
Morgan said, in one instance, a witness “migrated”.
“There was another one where a genetically connected individual went to court and the case did not survive,” he said during a post-Cabinet press briefing.
“The challenge in a lot of these cases is that many of the persons who participated in the action are connected to each other and they never wanted to come forward to give evidence,” he added.
Morgan said that the matter is within the remit of the constituted authorities to launch an investigation.
“The Integrity Commission and others, [but] I cannot instruct them. It is in their remit and right to investigate what they want. But there are other constituted authorities – the police and others – who have freedom to investigate what they want to,” he said, noting that the Government’s interest is to “run a proper” Housing Agency of Jamaica.