Henry responds to CHEC debarment

Jerome Reynolds and Debbie-Ann Wright, Gleaner Writers

It appears Contractor General, Greg Christie may have been late off the mark in relation to the barring of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) from receiving World Bank funded contracts.

Yesterday, the Office of the Contractor General (OCG), raised fresh concerns about Jamaica’s dealings with CHEC in light of the debarment of the entity’s parent company and subsidiaries.

The World Bank took the decision under its Fraud and Corruption Sanctioning Policy.

However, the issue had been raised in parliament last November by MP Dr. Morais Guy.

Dr. Guy had questioned whether the then Jamaica Labour Party government had carried out adequate due diligence in light of the fact that the World Bank had seen the company as unfit to receive its contracts.

Meanwhile, former Transport Minister Mike Henry is continuing his defence of the US$400 million contract awarded to CHEC for the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme.

China Harbour has said it was not involved in and had never been involved in any activity that has attracted sanctions by the World Bank.

It said the sanctions arise out of its merger with a company which had been cited by the World Bank.

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