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St. Ann Municipal Corporation Office of the Contractor General November 2017
that this statement made by Ms. Hanna, was an attempt to deceive the Contractor General in the
lawful execution of his duties.
25. The OCG concludes that a recommendation was made by Ms. Lisa Hanna for the award of a
contract to Ms. Nicolette Keene, Secretary, Office of the Member of Parliament, South East, St.
Ann amounts to misbehaviour in public office, as it had the effect of causing the Municipal
Corporation to award a contract to Ms. Keene, who was also acting fraudulently. Irrespective of
the argument put forward by both Ms. Hanna and Ms. Andrea Smith, that Ms. Keene was merely
facilitating the collection of a cheque, OCG concludes that the referenced recommendation
amounts to a conflict of interest on the part of Ms. Hanna.
26. The OCG concludes that Mrs. Joan McDonald attempted to, and did in fact, mislead and obstruct
the Contractor General in the lawful discharge of his duties, contrary to Section 29 of the
Contractor General Act, by uttering the false documents labelled as exhibits “JM1” and “JM2”.
27. Having regard to the
several inconsistencies in the evidence given by Mrs. Joan McDonald,
consideration may be given as to whether the inconsistent statements provided by Mrs. McDonald
give rise to a breach of Section 29 of the Contractor General Act. This is being contemplated
against the background of the apology which was offered by Mrs. McDonald, which may arguably
deem the inconsistent statements as an attempt to willfully mislead the Contractor General.
In the English Court of Appeal case of
R v Miller
238
it was found that the use of the word
"wilfully" meant that the prosecution was required to prove no more than that the statement
was
made deliberately
and not inadvertently or by mistake. In this regard, Mrs. Joan McDonald’s
apology to the OCG may be conceived as an indication that she knew that she had made deliberate
misrepresentations to the Contractor General in an attempt to conceal the truth.
238
[1985] Q.B. 519