Vaz criticised for response to highlighted procurement breaches in Starlink purchase

 

By Prince Moore  

 

   

Energy and Telecommunications Minister Daryl Vaz has come under fire for his response to an Auditor General's report that highlighted serious breaches of the procurement rules by him in securing Starlink devices following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

 

In her report tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday, Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis flagged the purchase of 200 Starlink devices valued at $12.1 million for Hurricane Melissa Relief. 

 

But in his response on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Vaz denied any wrongdoing and insisted that his actions were geared towards reconnecting parts of the country which were without service following the catastrophic damage to the physical and digital infrastructure networks across Jamaica.

 

National Integrity Action has taken issues with Mr. Vaz's response to the breaches.

 

Dr. Gavin Myers, Principal Director of National Integrity Action, says Mr. Vaz should be mindful that there are guidelines governing procurement.

 

"The points that we have to be very clear on is that there are rules and that they were breached. It's almost like the Energy Minister in his response to people pointing out that he breached the rules, is that the rules don't matter to me and that he has the right to act in a way that he feels fit. And that in and of itself is very dangerous, a very dangerous ground that I'm not certain if the minister wants to be standing on, and other members of Cabinet want to be that this is the way that they're going to respond to the Auditor General commenting on clear breaches of the rules that are there," he argued.

 

Dr. Myers suggested there are ways that the Starlink devices could have been purchased without breaching the procurement rules. 

 

"I'm sure the minister understands that there are rules and that even in this moment the minister understands that there are ways that it could be done, that it's not about slowing up, but rather following the procedures. And I'm sure the minister would not want to be on a plane that the pilot just says, 'Okay, I'm going to take off, regardless of whether there is any response from the control towers.' I'm sure the minister understands perfectly well the importance of rules based system," said Dr. Myers. 

 

He was speaking Wednesday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines.