It has been revealed that in the wake of the Petrojam scandal in 2018, Prime Minister Andrew Holness named a man who was a close friend of at least one of the implicated officials to a team to review the refinery's operations.
The information is contained in a report from the Integrity Commission on the allegations of corruption, cronyism, nepotism and mismanagement at Petrojam.
The Integrity Commission notes that banking executive Ike Johnson was selected as a member of the Petrojam Review Committee empanelled by Mr. Holness to review the operations of Petrojam.
However, it notes that Mr. Johnson was a groomsman at former Petrojam chairman Dr. Perceval Bahado-Singh's wedding, at which former energy minister Dr. Andrew Wheatley was also a member of the wedding party.
Additionally, Mr. Johnson was a member of the panel which interviewed former general manager Floyd Gridley for that position.
Dr. Bahado-Singh reportedly told the Integrity Commission he recommended that Mr. Johnson be placed on the panel to interview Mr. Grindley.
The Petrojam Review Committee was primarily tasked with reviewing plans for upgrade of the refinery and suggesting realistic options in relation to the future of the refinery.
However, it was also tasked with looking at the existing institutional and management arrangements with a view to recommending systemic improvements in the interest of good governance.
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