The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) Limited yesterday denied claims by the Opposition that the company had issued a contract to a local security firm in breach of public procurement rules.

According to managing director of the national bus company, Paul Abrahams, the claim by the People’s National Party (PNP) was “pure mischief”.

He said that the release from the Opposition spokesman on transport and works Mikael Phillips was misleading, and that the JUTC would clarify the matter.

The JUTC later issued a release in which it stated:

“From the outset, the JUTC wishes to state categorically there is no current contract with Millennium Security Limited (MSL).”

The bus company was responding to the release issued yesterday by the PNP, stating that Phillips was calling for the immediate resignation of the JUTC’s board of directors, including Abrahams.

According to Phillips the board needed to step down because of “complicity in what appears to be a breach of established government procurement guidelines” in “the awarding of a contract valued at over $50 million to a company in which the brother of a member of the board has an interest”.

“This board member is also chairman of the finance committee. This contract was allegedly awarded to a company called Millennium Security Limited,” Phillips said in the release.

He called on Transport Minister Mike Henry to disclose whether the contract was taken to Cabinet for its consideration and approval.

He asked whether the contractor has the required staff complement, expertise and track record to perform the work described in the terms of reference, and whether it was shared with other competitors as a competitive offer.

Phillips also questioned whether there was any analysis of the scope of the service required, and whether or not those services could be absorbed into the current structure of the JUTC.

He said that Henry must act in the interest of the public and dismiss the board of the JUTC for failure to prevent the contract.

However, the JUTC, in its response, said that it was necessary to “set the record straight and to clarify, contextualise and enlighten those who may otherwise want to cause mischief”.

“It is no secret that there are myriad issues bedevilling the state-run company, many of which have been publicised. The management and board of the JUTC, having recognised the problem of widespread theft of spare parts, lubricants and oil, and having realised there was a serious backlog of accident investigations and disciplinary cases and staff being reinstated, decided, in the interest of probity and efficiency, to seek to engage independent outside contractors for accident investigation and disciplinary hearings,” the JUTC said.

“We entered into discussions with MSL (Millennium Security Limited), who submitted a proposal which was presented to the board for review. We wish to make it clear that when the matter was being discussed, director Clement Ellington recused himself from these discussions. The board subsequently gave management approval to engage Millennium under a six-month pilot project.

“During the internal preparations to engage Millennium, it was observed that the value of the proposed services would fall within the parameters which required competitive tender. The process was halted and the company, by way of publication in the Gleaner (October 21, 2017), and the Observer (October 24, 2017) invited interested persons to submit bids.

“It is to be noted that during the discussions regarding accident investigation, there was an agreement with MSL to provide additional security services on a temporary pilot basis to protect spare parts which appeared to vanish from the company from time to time. That service was only temporary and came to an end September 20, 2017. Invitation to tender has been published for additional security services,” the bus company said.