JAMAICA House yesterday sought to clarify comments made by Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Sancia Bennett Templer on Tuesday at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), where she have an update on the forensic audit of $5.2 billion in oil losses at Petrojam over the past five years.

Bennett Templer had told the committee that the terms of reference (TOR) for the audit were completed and were to be put to public tender.

Several members including junior minister in the OPM, Everald Warmington, protested the decision to have Petrojam define the TOR and manage the audit project.

Yesterday, in a release, the OPM stated that not only was Petrojam not being asked to undertake a forensic audit or appoint a forensic auditor, but that no TOR have been finalised or approved by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

The prime minister ordered the forensic audit last month, following the publication of a damning Auditor General’s report on the operations of Petrojam and some aspects of its parent company, the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica.

According to the OPM release, Petrojam had submitted initial suggestions for the TOR to Holness for the audit but that this has to go through a review process involving the OPM, the Ministry of Finance and other interested entities.