JAMP blasts gov't for starting new year on 'uninspiring' note with surcharge issue

 

The Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal (JAMP) says the government started the year on a bad note with the Finance Ministry contradicting statements made at Wednesday's post Cabinet media briefing about a surcharge issued against two officials at the Ministry of Education.

 

It had been disclosed that action was taken in response to last year's report by Auditor General Pamela Munroe Ellis regarding the payment of $124 million to the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education (JCTE).

 

But in a statement Wednesday afternoon, the Ministry of Finance denied that action had been taken, saying it was still in the process of gathering and reviewing information regarding the recommendation made by the Auditor General for surcharge of Permanent Secretary Dean-Roy Bernard and acting Permanent Secretary Dr. Grace McLean. 

 

Jeanette Calder, Executive Director of Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal, believes the wrong signal is being sent to the public following the conflicting reports. 

 

"We start off with good news that the two former permanent secretaries were going to be sanctioned, and rightly so. Because of negligence, at a minimum, there is $124 million missing. So, I was really encouraged. But to my shock and utter dismay, we then learn about a dispute with that fact coming from the Ministry of Finance, saying basically nut'n nuh guh suh. We are still at a stage of evaluating whether or not these two public officials are to be surcharged."

 

"Now those are two diametrically opposed positions coming out of a Cabinet press briefing, where one ministry is saying one thing, and another. Citizens should not be even put in a position where they have to be guessing which ministry to believe," argued Ms Calder, who was a guest Thursday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106.

 

The executive director of JAMP also took issue with State Minister Robert Morgan's response on Wednesday to a question about whether Education Minister Fayval Williams still had confidence in Dr. Grace McLean.   

 

"The same junior minister chided, chastised, and upbraided the media for a 'very inappropriate' question, which I thought was reasonable, because, as he said, investigations are not yet complete. But a couple hours from that, we're told that Dr. McLean is going to be returned to the ministry this month. Now, if that is not a shoddy, if that is not a confusing, if that is not an uninspiring way to begin, then I don't know what is," she lamented. 

 

The anti-corruption watchdog said the government should urgently clarify the situation regarding the surcharge, or lack thereof, against the two officials at the Ministry of Education, and it should also apologise for the confusion.