TO ensure that the $11.8 million spent on restoration work at the May Pen Cemetery for the period June to December 2006 was legitimately used, minority People’s National Party(PNP) councillors at last week’s Finance Committee meeting of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC), called for an internal audit of the account.

The minority councillors are also insisting that the May Pen Cemetery Restoration Fund, which is a separate account from the KSAC’s main account, be open to scrutiny and be included as a part of the monthly statement of accounts presented to the Finance Committee.

At the April 24 meeting of the committee, PNP councillor Angella Brown-Burke asked for the names of persons on the account, the signatories to the account, the name of the account, and a detailed statement of the account since its inception.

The signatories to the account are former town clerk, Errol Green, Mayor Desmond McKenzie, Deputy Mayor Lee Clarke and then city treasurer Lincoln Evans.

Evans who is now the acting town clerk, explained to the committee that a cheque drawn on the restoration fund account was lodged to the KSAC main account to pay for work done at the cemetery. He said that the original signatories to the account had not changed since acting city treasurer, Alvin Dawkins was appointed.

Brown-Burke said that the restoration account should form part of the monthly account statement presented to the committee.

“Anything less is an insult to the council,” she said.

Another PNP councillor, Paul Stewart, asked for an internal audit of the account. “The internal auditors should audit this account and report to the meeting that all the money was used for legitimate purposes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vernon McLeod, chairman of the committee, said that the intent and purpose of the restoration fund was important. “The purpose is to restore the cemetery. However technically it could be argued that the funds belong to the KSAC. The 10+ million dollars was properly used. In the future the committee should be guided by the principle that anything collected for the council should be part of the KSAC’s funds.”

The money, according to the May Pen Cemetery Restoration Fund statement of receipts and payments as of April 30, 2007, was used to hire trucks to remove debris from the cemetery and to provide labour and tools to cut down and cut up trees and clean out bush.

The statement shows that local donations to the restoration fund total $8,062,272.82 and that US$1,850 has been donated from overseas.

Local donors include NCB – $5,000,000; the Canadian High Commission – $985,469.82; Scotia Bank Jamaica Foundation – $1,500,000; The Port Authority – $100,000; Pentecostal Tabernacle – $64,000; Tastee Limited – $50,000 and Bethel United Church of Jesus Christ – $43,518.

In 2004 Mayor McKenzie estimated the total cost of restoring the cemetery at $40 million, but that figure has more than doubled since then.