An investigation by the Integrity Commission which was initiated by the then Office of the Contractor General has found that the late Member of Parliament for Portland Eastern, Dr Lynvale Bloomfield, was engaged in a conflict of interest when he recommended his personal accountant, Peggy Aitken, for a Government contract worth approximately $1 million in 2017.

Bloomfield, a member of the People’s National Party, was found stabbed to death at his Passley Gardens home in Portland on the morning of February 2, 2019.

The findings of the investigation and recommendations are contained in the Commission’s Report that was tabled in the Parliament on Wednesday.

The Commission’s Director of Investigations (DI), Kevon Stephenson, also concluded that the process by which the National Works Agency (NWA) verbally requested recommendations for contractors as well as by which Dr Bloomfield verbally provided the said recommendation in his capacity as Member of Parliament was irregular and lacked transparency.

The DI also concluded that Bloomfield’s recommendation of Aitken constituted a conflict of interest as it was contrary to the government’s procurement guidelines, specifically as contained in Section 4.2.of the GOJ Handbook of Public Procurement Procedures (GPPPH, 2014).

The probe sought to determine whether there was any favouritism, conflict of interest, impropriety and/or irregularity in the award of the contract by the NWA under the East Portland Special Mitigation Programme, 2017.

The contract sum in the amount of $999,530 was essentially to undertake what is part of the annual de-bushing and drain cleaning works that Members of Parliament undertake in their constituencies.

The decision of the then Office of the Contractor General to commence the investigation was prompted by an anonymous complaint it received in September 21, 2017.

It was alleged in the complaint that some labourers were not compensated for their work executed under the contract.

It also found that the main contractor identified as Mrs Aitken was overseas at the time and was the personal accountant of Dr Bloomfield.

The Integrity Commission said the probe also sought to ascertain whether the procurement process employed by the NWA breached any applicable legislation, rules and/or regulations.

The investigation found the following:

-Dr Bloomfield confirmed that he recommended Aitken to the NWA for the award of a government contract and indicated that same was made via a telephone call with an NWA supervisor in July 2017.

-Chief Executive Officer at the NWA, Everton Hunter confirmed that the NWA awarded the contract for de-bushing and drain-cleaning works in the amount of $999,530 to Aitken on July 28, 2017 under the Summer 2017 Special Mitigation Programme in East Portland.

-Hunter confirmed that the contract was awarded to Aitken on the basis of a recommendation provided by Bloomfield.

-The NWA utilised the direct contracting procurement methodology for the award of the contract.

-Dr Bloomfield confirmed that Aitken was his personal accountant since 2010.

The DI concluded that Bloomfield’s failure to make any disclosures to the NWA regarding the nature of his professional relationship with Aitken amounted to a breach of Section 4.2.1 of the GPPH which “imposes a duty on public officers to declare any relationship with a contractor as well as any personal interest that may affect or might reasonably be deemed by others to affect their impartiality in any matter relevant to their duties”.

The Commission has recommended that all public officials, implementing agencies and procuring public bodies ensure that officers are made aware of the requirements imposed by the GPPPH, 2014, in relation to the identification and disclosure of actual or potential conflicts of interest and ensure that reasonable steps are taken to enforce these requirements.

Additionally, the Commission recommended that Members of Parliament refrain from recommending individuals and/or entities with which they share personal and/or professional relationships and/or associations for the award of government contracts.

And, it also recommended that the findings of the investigation be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration, pursuant to section 54 (3) (b) of the Integrity Commission Act. It said the referral was made in light of the NWA’s failure to submit the requisite Quarterly Contract Award (QCA) report in relation to the award of the contract to Aitken as well as the provisions of section 29 (a) and (b) of the then applicable Contractor General Act.