Case closed

Culture Minister Olivia Grange says she has been vindicated by an Integrity Commission (IC) report that has cleared her of allegations of nepotism and conflict of interest in the award of a $15-million Grand Gala contract in 2016.

“The findings of the Integrity Commission are in keeping with what I said when this matter was raised. I hope this report will bring closure to this matter,” said Grange in a statement issued Wednesday to The Gleaner on the IC’s 49-page report on an investigation into the award of the contract to cultural expert Trevor Nairne to provide artistic direction for the gala.

Grange said she has not yet gone through the full report but will be looking at the recommendations made to strengthen the procurement and accountability systems at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and her ministry, to which the agency reports.

In Parliament in April 2017, then Opposition Spokesperson on Culture Lisa Hanna raised allegations of nepotism and corruption surrounding the award of the contract “lock, stock, and barrel” to Nairne, without any negotiation on proposed cost.

She questioned the process after pointing out that Nairne and Lenford Salmon, a senior adviser to Grange, were two of four directors of Jambiz International, a theatre production company.

Nairne was contracted to design costumes, choreograph performances, and pay assistants - all of which Hanna claimed could have been done by the JCDC.

Grange had blasted Hanna for the allegations and insisted that she was not aware of the contract.

In his report, IC Director of Investigation Kevon Stephenson concluded that there was no conflict of interest involved in the process and that he had seen no evidence to indicate that Grange was directly involved in the procurement, award, or execution of the contract.

Stephenson confirmed that Nairne submitted an unsolicited proposal in May 2016, which the JCDC board approved in June that year. He said at the time of the submission, Nairne had a long-standing friendship and professional relationship with Salmon.

But Stephenson said he found no evidence to prove that any public official or employee of the JCDC or the ministry influenced the submission of the proposal or that Salmon had been directly or indirectly involved or had influenced the contract procurement.

The director of investigations said the payment of 50 per cent of the contract value on the same day an invoice for the full value was submitted was in keeping with the terms of the duly executed contract.

But the IC has criticised the JCDC for how it handled aspects of the procurement process.

The commission said the accounting officer breached the Government’s public-sector procurement procedures by failing to observe ‘other guidelines’ or industry practice, or to develop internal procedures to guide the procurement of Nairne’s services.

The accounting officer also breached the then Contractor General’s Act as the JCDC failed to report a contract whose value triggered mandatory reporting to the then Office of the Contractor General, the commission said.

At the time of the contract, the JCDC was headed by Delroy Gordon, who died in March 2017.

Among the IC’s recommendations is for the JCDC to develop and implement guidelines to deal with unsolicited proposals.

It has also recommended that Grange’s ministry should issue a policy directive to entities under its control to develop specific procurement guidelines on the procurement of artistic and cultural performance services.

The commission said the JCDC currently lacks a definitive procurement procedure on cultural products and services.

jovan.johnson@gleanerjm.com