KINGSTON – Information Minister Senator Ruel Reid yesterday sought to assure the public that the Government plans to act in the face of mounting reports of blatant breaches of Government regulations and guidelines on the use of public funds and resources.
“The matter is under review… we are committed to making sure that the requisite regulations and legislative provisions to better hold all persons accountable. The Government is seized of the issue and we are very serious in stamping out any form of corruption,” Reid said.
His comments were solicited at a post-Cabinet press briefing in the wake of yet another scandalous report of various breaches of the Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act by the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ). The report of the special audit, carried out by the Auditor General’s Department, was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday and showed multimillion-dollar payments to senior officers for which they were not entitled.
The PAJ audit was preceded by other disturbing reports over recent months, including the apparent splurge at the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ); irregularities at the Sugar Industry Authority of Jamaica in the disbursement of multimillion-dollar loans to senior managers of the agriculture ministry; and the misuse of members’ funds at the National Peoples’ Cooperative Bank.
At a recent sitting of the Public Accounts Committee of the House, committee chairman Dr Peter Phillips argued that the oversight capabilities of parent ministries “may” need to be strengthened in order to stem these breaches.
“This question, which has occurred previously, where boards say we don’t report to the accountable officer (permanent secretary) and that we only report to the minister, creates an area of uncertainty. It often leads to the ability of the accountable officer only getting involved after the damage to the public interest has occurred,” the former finance minister pointed out.
He made the observation during a stormy sitting, where the management of the FCJ came under fire for what appeared to be its loose use of public funds. Permanent secretary with oversight for the FCJ, Audrey Sewell, explained that the ministry cannot “police” some boards, because some agencies do not consult with the ministry as much as others in making their decisions.
“There are some boards that consult with the ministry a lot for guidance; there are others that do not consult as much and, unfortunately, some of the things that happen, we don’t know until after an audit is conducted, or some of the CEOs may consult us to say, ‘this is happening and we are uncomfortable with this’,” she explained. (Jamaica Observer)