.png)
The Ministry of Finance has taken surcharge action against officials at the Ministry of Education following last year's report by Auditor General Pamela Munroe Ellis regarding the payment of $124 million to the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education (JCTE).
A surcharge action is a charge against an official to compensate for a breach of fiduciary duty that occurs through negligence or intentional conduct.
The Auditor General said the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Dean-Roy Bernard, and acting permanent secretary Dr. Grace McLean failed in their fiduciary duties after the Education Ministry was unable to account for how the JCTE spent taxpayers' money.
Speaking at Wednesday's post-Cabinet briefing, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Robert Morgan said the surcharge letters have been delivered to the officials in question and they have 30 days in which to respond or "activate whatever personal action they seek to take in that regard".
Mr. Morgan described the surcharge letters issued by the Ministry of Finance as unprecedented but pointed out that the ministry was empowered by the public service rules to take such action against "individuals who may be found to have acted in a particular manner as it relates to taxpayers' funds".
"You would really recognize that I’m being very careful in my wording because the recommendation of a surcharge doesn't necessarily mean that the person is convicted of a crime. So, what has happened is that based on the recommendation of the Auditor General, the Ministry of Finance, which has responsibility for these issues, has acted on that recommendation, and we all will have to wait to see what the outcome of that action is," he said.
Mr. Morgan also intervened when Education Minister Fayval Williams was asked whether she was still confident in Dr. Grace McLean's leadership in the wake of the Auditor General's findings.
"I would say [that is] an unfair question to ask the minister in light of the fact...that there's an investigation taking place," he insisted. "[T]he minister would not be in a position to express confidence or a lack thereof in light of questions and investigations...so, we await the outcomes of the investigations before we make any pronouncement on any person's guilt or innocence" he reiterated.
The authorities investigating the matter are still unable to account for the funds paid to the Joint Committee on Tertiary Education.
comments powered by Disqus
All feeds
