KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of agriculture and fisheries Derrick Kellier has defended the ministry’s permanent secretary, Donovan Stanberry’s right as a cane farmer, to borrow from the government’s Cane Expansion Fund (CEF).

Stanberry over a week ago admitted to the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) of Parliament that he has a loan with the fund, and that other senior officers of the ministry have also accessed loans. The revelation caused a stir, with many, questioning the morality of the arrangement. Stanberry stressed at the time that his loan account was in good standing, that the services commission was aware of the transaction.

“Any registered cane farmer who meets the requirements is eligible to apply for a credit facility from the Cane Expansion Fund,” Kellier said Friday.

He was speaking at a press conference at the Agriculture Ministry, where he sought to clarify issues surrounding this matter, as well as the disturbing revelations of an audit into the operations of the National People’s Co-operative Bank (PNCB), which he ordered following complaints from the regulator of the bank about mismanagement at the institution.

The minister pointed out that only three employees of the ministry have received loans through the CEF.

Kellier said also that the loan management committee members who are eligible registered cane farmers are safeguarded against conflict of interest, as once a loan is being considered for any member of the committee, the applicant must excuse himself from the decision regarding that application. He made it clear that the permanent secretary was never a member of that committee.

The CEF was set up in 2008 under the European Union-funded Sugar Transformation Programme, to assist cane farmers to make their operations more efficient in order to improve production in the industry.

Alphea Saunders