Prime Minister Bruce Golding yesterday gave the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) just over a day to provide him with a full report of contracts issued by the state-run bus company as controversy deepened over deals being queried by the contractor-general.

Golding, who said he wanted the report by Wednesday afternoon, issued his instruction a few hours after the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) charged that there was corruption at the JUTC under the present Government and called for the sacking of the members of the company's Procurement Committee, Rae Barrett, Dennis Chung and Bindley Sangster, who is also the JUTC's acting managing director.

The PNP went further, calling for an audit of the problem-plagued JUTC by the country's chief auditor, even as the members of the JUTC board were summoned to an emergency meeting scheduled for this afternoon in response to the damning report.

"In light of the fact that the contractor-general focused only on three contracts at the JUTC, the Opposition is calling on the auditor-general to conduct a detailed audit of the operations of the entire JUTC and of all contracts entered into by the corporation," PNP Chairman Robert Pickersgill told journalists at a mid-morning news conference at PNP headquarters in Kingston. "This is necessitated by the fact that a can of worms has been opened."

In a 104-page report released last week, Contractor-General Greg Christie said that former JUTC chairman Douglas Chambers and Sangster falsified a report presented to him (Christie) in his investigation of the award of contracts at the bus company.

The contracts were awarded in February to Simber Productions of which Chambers was said to be the majority shareholder.

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.

However, Christie said that on July 16, 2008, less than three weeks after Chambers' June 27 slaying by gunmen outside the JUTC depot in Spanish Town, an amended annual return of Simber Productions Ltd was executed and certified to the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) by Simes as being "correct".

The return, which he said was stamped "received" by the ORC on July 17, 2008, showed that amendments were effected to Simber's 2007 and 2008 annual returns declaring Simes as the majority shareholder, "thus replacing Mr Douglas Chambers as the previously declared and certified majority shareholder in the company".

But Christie said that the change in the share allotments not only conflicted with Chambers' formal written attestations before his death, it also "contradicts the written declarations which have existed upon the official records of the ORC for all years preceding".

Yesterday, after his news conference, Pickersgill told the Observer that the Opposition was awaiting the ruling of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to see if any criminal action will be taken.

When the Observer contacted DPP Paula Llewellyn, she said she was still perusing the report.

Pickersgill also called on Transport Minister Mike Henry to clarify Christie's conclusion that Henry failed in his response to explain the reasons for his information or belief that Chambers was not the majority shareholder in Simber Productions.

"It is passing strange that four days after the minister's adamant declaration that Chambers was a minority shareholder in Simber Productions, the records of the company were amended to retroactively support the minister's contention," Pickersgill said.

The Opposition spokesman also questioned whether the minister was aware that "no person may lawfully deal with, transfer or otherwise interfere with the assets of a deceased person".

Pointing to the manifesto published by the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) for the 2007 general elections, Pickersgill said they were the ones who proposed to "enact provisions for the impeachment of public officials for misconduct, corruption, abuse of office or betrayal of public trust".

"The response of Minister Henry to questions posed by the contractor-general has been found to be inconsistent and incomplete at best. At worst, it was misleading," said Pickersgill.

Pressed on whether Henry should resign, Pickersgill said he was awaiting a response from the prime minister on the issue as well as for Henry to complete his analysis of the report.

In addition, he said the Opposition was still awaiting the report of an audit done by the company after claims that 400 deceased persons were on the payroll during the PNP administration.

- additional reporting by Erica Virtue

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