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St. Ann Municipal Corporation Office of the Contractor General November 2017
Contracts Awarded by the St. Ann Municipal Corporation
The OCG during the course of its Investigation requested and received from the St. Ann Municipal
Corporation several contracts, payment vouchers and cheques which had been prepared and issued in respect
of certain contractors and projects which fell within the scope of,
inter alia
, the CDF. The contracts related
specifically to those which were prepared in respect of what has been regarded as ‘group payments’ to
certain individuals described as “collectors”. The OCG undertook a comprehensive review of the referenced
contracts, cheques and payment documents and has, constructed and attached at, Appendix 2, a table
outlining the information which was observed.
The aforementioned table portrays a total of fifty-three (53) contracts which were awarded by the St. Ann
Municipal Corporation to contractors who were recommended by the Office of the Member of Parliament,
South East, St. Ann. The contracts were awarded during the period 2012 to 2015 and related primarily to de-
bushing and drain cleaning works and utilized both CDF and Parochial Revenue funds. The following
significant observations were also made by the OCG upon its perusal of the stated documents:
Contracts Awarded to Blyden Brown
Three (3) contracts were awarded to Mr. Blyden Brown for which the cumulative value was in the amount
of $383,000.00. The contract which was entered into on December 6, 2013 bore no signature of any officer
of the St. Ann Municipal Corporation attesting to the works being “
GIVEN OUT
” or “
SATISFACTORILY
DONE
”. Notwithstanding the absence of the works being certified as having been satisfactorily completed,
the contract was signed on December 18, 2013, by the Superintendent, Roads and Works Department as
being “
APPROVED FOR PAYMENT
”. A cheque dated December 18, 2013 was subsequently issued and
paid to Mr. Blyden Brown by the St. Ann Municipal Corporation. As it relates to the contract which was
awarded to Mr. Brown in the amount of $18,000.00, the OCG observed that no rates were applied and/or
stated on the contract document. Of the three (3) contracts awarded to Mr. Brown, two (2) were verified as
having been examined by the Internal Audit Department of the St. Ann Municipal Corporation.
The former Secretary Manager, Mr. Alfred Graham, provided the following responses to questions which
were directed by the Contractor General during a hearing which was convened on June 1, 2017:
“
Chairman:
Okay. This is Exhibit AG(2), it’s a copy of the
document. You have the original. I look at Item No. 1