Former JUTC execs cleared of wrongdoing

OCG had cited corruption in contract awards

By INGRID BROWN, Observer senior reporter, browni@jamaicaobserver.com

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

FORMER acting managing director of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) Bindley Sangster and former members of the bus company’s board were yesterday cleared of any wrongdoing by Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn, two years after Contractor General Greg Christie cited corruption in the awards of contracts at the company and recommended that criminal charges be brought.

The OCG’s report had also cited former executive chairman of the state-run bus company, the late Douglas Chambers, and his business partner Susan Simes of Simber Productions.

But yesterday, Llewellyn, who had referred Christie’s report to the police for further investigation, also cleared Simes of any wrongdoing.

“There has been no material uncovered by the police investigators to support the preferring of any criminal charge against any one in this matter,” Llewellyn noted in her ruling.

She added further that the police did not uncover any material to suggest that any of the persons interviewed obtained illicit benefits from any of the procedural breaches identified.

Christie, in his probe into procurement breaches at the JUTC, had accused Chambers and Sangster of falsifying a report presented to him (Christie) during the investigation in the award of certain contracts.

Under the contract, a JUTC SmartCard feature was aired on The Susan Show hosted by Susan Simes, who was listed as Simber's only other shareholder. A JUTC commercial, and a 'Ride and Win Summer Bling' advertisement were also produced by Simber under the contract.

Christie's report pointed to a conflict of interest in the award since Chambers was a shareholder in Simber Productions. Christie also charged that Chambers lied when he claimed he was not the major shareholder in the company.

But Llewellyn, in her ruling yesterday, said the awarding of the contract to Simber Productions Limited was a fait accompli by Chambers, who if he were alive, would have had to bear the full responsibility for what was a procedural breach.

As such the board members, she said, cannot be held responsible at all for any procedural breaches that may have been perpetrated by Chambers' failure to follow proper protocol in notifying the board.

“His causing the JUTC to enter into a contract with Simber Productions Limited without the knowledge and approval of the board was a procedural breach which, however, would still not have risen to the necessary threshold required for criminal charges without more,” she argued.

According to the DPP, the line of enquiry which could have been followed by the OCG and the police to fully explore whether Chambers' conduct went above departmental breaches is closed in light of the fact that he was deceased at the time of the investigations.

Llewellyn also pointed to a discrepancy in Christie’s report noting that the signing and execution of the document transferring majority shares from Chambers to Simes was done three weeks before his death and not three weeks after.

“As such, Ms Simes assertion at the time of the OCG’s investigation of the matter, that she was the majority shareholder in Simber Productions Limited was not false, but was always an accurate statement of the facts,” Llewellyn stated.

But Christie yesterday shot down that claim pointing out that the ruling regarding Simber Productions is based upon a major misstatement of fact.

He also took issue on the ruling as it pertained to Sangster and the board of directors.