The contractor general has sent a copy of his report on the findings of a probe into expenditure on ‘Jamaica 50’ celebrations to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for possible action against the chief accounting officer of the Ministry of Youth and Culture (MOYC), as well as the former heads of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) for breaches of the Contractor General Act.

The three entities awarded a total of 119 contracts.

The Office of the Contractor General (OCG), in a special report tabled in the House of Representatives yesterday, said efforts to determine whether all contracts for the activities were awarded transparently and on merit were hampered because the Jamaica 50 Secretariat had failed to prepare related documentation for several procurement opportunities which were undertaken.

“The foregoing failures of the MOYC/Jamaica 50 Secretariat contributed to the OCG’s inability to determine whether value for money was obtained in all the procurement activities undertaken for the celebrations. The MOYC, in certain instances, provided inaccurate and/or inconsistent accounting information of payments made to certain contractors for the Jamaica 50 celebrations. This has resulted in the OCG being unable to reconcile these payments with the information which was provided for consideration,” Contractor General Dirk Harrison outlined.

There has been long-standing tensions between former portfolio minister Lisa Hanna and the current minister, Olivia Grange, over the Jamaica 50 activities.

Citing examples of the inaccuracies, the OCG noted discrepancies in cheques, vouchers and invoices which were prepared for a contract awarded to one company to produce a Jamaica 50 song and video. The secretariat said payment to the company was just over $9 million, but the OCG said it found cheque payments, vouchers and invoices amounting to more.

“The OCG noted three payment vouchers authorising payments totalling $7,949,043.64… three cheques totalling $7,949,043.64 and two invoices which were prepared by the referenced entity in the amount of $8,011,295.85,” the report said.

The probe further determined that under the stewardship of Minister Grange, under which Jamaica 50 was conceptualised in 2009, a total of $23,812,269.81 was spent up to December 2011, according to a cash flow document presented by Grange.

But Harrison stressed that, “It must be categorically stated that the acceptance of the referenced expenditure is being arrived at in the absence of documentary evidence to substantiate same. The OCG is therefore unable to ascertain the manner in which the funds were expended and the purpose for which they were expended.”

Meanwhile, the OCG said the investigation did not point to any conflict of interest on the part of any officer or official of the MOYC or the JTB in the procurement opportunities undertaken to host the local celebrations. Still, the OCG insisted that it was unable to determine whether the Government received value for money in all the procurement opportunities undertaken to host the Jamaica 50 celebrations because of the failure of the procuring entities to maintain documentary evidence which would clearly identify the procurement process employed and the manner in which funds were expended.

The OCG also contends that there is an anomaly between the expenditure stated by the Jamaica 50 Secretariat and its own calculations of the sums spent by the administrations of Grange and Hanna on the celebrations during their respective tenures. Harrison noted that the Secretariat said $748.5 million was spent while Hanna attested to an expenditure of $717.7 million.

“Based on the OCG’s calculations, the cumulative value of the expenditure of both administrations amounts to $741,608,269.81. Essentially, an amount of $6,977,730.19 represents the difference between the monies allegedly expended by the MOYC/Jamaica 50 Secretariat and Minister Grange and Minister Hanna,” the report said.

Jamaica marked its 50th anniversary of Independence with a raft of elaborate activities, locally and overseas, from August 1-6 in 2012. At the time, the Jamaica 50 Secretariat reported that more than $204 million of the $688-million budget, or about 30 per cent, came from sponsorship from 26 companies.

But the spend triggered controversy and resulted in then Contractor General Greg Christie opening a probe, saying that his intention was to determine whether “value for money” was obtained.

Christie also said his decision was influenced by “allegations of irregular and improper” Government spending and “nepotism” in respect of the Independence celebrations in the United Kingdom.