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St. Ann Municipal Corporation Office of the Contractor General November 2017
The failure of the Corporation to properly file and record the procurement records relevant to the
subject award of contracts displays contempt for transparency and accountability and brings into
question the Corporation’s commitment to principles of good governance and prudent financial
management.
12. There is an apparent dysfunctional relationship between the office of the Secretary Manager of the
St. Ann Municipal Corporation and the Roads and Works Department of the Corporation, as well
as between and among the staff complement of the Road and Works Department at varying levels.
The OCG’s conclusion is premised upon the fact that neither the current Chief Executive Officer,
Mrs. Claudiah Carter nor the former Secretary Manager were aware of the admitted practices of
(a) the signing of “blank” contract documents on the part of contractors on the request of officers
of the Corporation (b) the signing of contracts by contractors subsequent to the commencement
and in some cases the completion of works.
Further, the feigned ignorance of Ms. Althea Hall, former Superintendent of Roads and Works, St.
Ann Municipal Corporation, to the facilitation of the practice of ‘group payment’ by the
Corporation is unbelievable and unthinkable, given the extensive knowledge and familiarity of her
junior staff with the practice. It is the OCG’s considered opinion that the mentioned practices
which seemed to have become ingrained and pervasive are not only irregular but expose the
Corporation and, by extension, the GOJ to, amongst other things, fraud and corruption.
13. The implementation of contracts, on the part of the St. Ann Municipal Corporation, portrays gross
deficiencies and incompetence. The OCG deems (a) the admitted presentation of ‘blank contracts’
for the signature of contractors, (b) the failure to measure works in all instances prior and
subsequent to the engagement of the contractor and (c) the failure of officers within the
Corporation to verify the satisfactory completion of all works prior to approving same for
payment, to be unsatisfactory and unacceptable.
Afortiori
, the certification that works have been