THE Ministry of Health and Wellness on Tuesday climbed down from Permanent Secretary Dunstan Bryan’s strong defence of its stewardship of public funds, saying that it would rectify the breaches identified in the auditor general’s COVID-19 expenditure findings.

Bryan had clashed with Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis during a meeting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) two weeks ago over the health ministry’s spend of more than $619 million in the COVID-19 period, up to March 2021, without proper records and procurement management.

Along with verbal responses at the PAC meeting, the ministry had provided written answers to several queries highlighted by the Auditor General’s Department in the matrix of responses submitted to the PAC. However, those responses were not discussed by the committee at that meeting.

At Tuesday’s PAC meeting, Chairman Julian Robinson sought to share some of the ministry’s written responses as he believed the public perception was that because some of those matters were not discussed in the previous meeting, they were not dealt with, when in fact they were.

“The documentation on the responses is here. They are tabled in the Parliament, so that if the public wants to view them, they can. I don’t want the impression to be given that the issues that were raised by the auditor general were not addressed and responded to… There are many issues that arise generally where the ministry, department or agency accepts the findings, takes steps to address the findings and rectify them. We don’t necessarily go into a long discussion on the matter,” he said.

Robinson’s explanation followed a joint release on Sunday by two civil society groups — Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal (JAMP) and National Integrity Action (NIA) — calling for the committee to complete its review of the auditor general’s COVID-19 expenditure audit before it moves on to other matters.

“The Public Accounts Committee’s examination of the report left the concerns unaddressed, limited as it was to one matter [the accommodation services provided by the hotels], yet the decision was taken to move on to a different report at the next sitting,” the groups said.

According to the auditor general’s report, which was tabled in Parliament in November 2022, there was a lack of transparency in payments to seven hotels and guest houses for quarantine accommodations. The audit found that the ministry provided evidence of a formal contract with only one.

The two watchdog groups also demanded answers regarding the failure of the Ministry of Health and Wellness to submit financial statements for nine years, accounting for $560 billion in expenditure.

This issue was outlined in the auditor general’s 2022 annual report which was tabled in Parliament in January. The report revealed the health ministry was in breach of the Financial Administration and Audit (FAA) Act for failure to submit appropriation accounts for 2013/14-2021/22, denying Parliament and the country the opportunity to assess the ministry’s stewardship of the use of over half a trillion dollars over the period.

The groups urged the PAC to ensure the interests of the public are better served at its next meeting by completing its examination of the auditor general’s COVID-19 expenditure audit; secure an adequate explanation for the delays in financial reporting and a firm timeline for compliance with the law; and ensure that Bryan provides answers to the auditor general’s concerns in a manner that meets the standards of transparency, accountability and respect.

However, one of the matters that the health ministry addressed in its written response on Tuesday, but which was not discussed by the committee, was the ministry’s failure to promptly report a $50-million cash donation to the Ministry of Finance as required by the FAA Act.

According to the auditor general’s report, Health for Life and Wellness Foundation, an arm of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, received that cash donation, but the health ministry did not submit evidence that it had reported donations to the finance ministry so that the necessary steps be taken for the donations to be merged with the health ministry’s budget for greater accountability.

“As such, without timely reporting and an accountability mechanism, it was difficult to determine whether funds transferred to other entities were used for COVID-19-related activities,” the audit report read.

In its written response on Tuesday, the ministry said that it accepts the breach and will “ensure that all officers are resensitised regarding the reporting requirements for all donations in order to prevent any recurrence and will ensure that all cash donations are accounted for and reported in a timely manner”.

In relation to the audit’s revelation regarding the transfer of $174 million to the Ministry of Local Government, National Solid Waste Management Authority, and a non-government organisation without the requisite approval of the finance ministry, the health ministry responded that it will strengthen its internal emergency public procurement processes to ensure adherence to the Public Procurement Act and related guidelines as well as the FAA Act and regulations.

“The ministry accepts this finding and will ensure in future that the requisite approvals are obtained by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service. Additionally, the ministry will take steps to recover from the Jamaica Red Cross, funds spent on non-COVID-19-related activities,” the written response read.

The health ministry also accepted the finding of the auditor general in relation to the absence of formal contracts for COVID-19 expenditures totalling $129 million for infrastructural works.

“The ministry wishes to highlight that this is not a usual practice for the ministry to not have in place formal contracts for infrastructure works. However, the exigencies of the COVID-19 pandemic required these works to be executed at very short notice and within short time frames, which precluded the issue of some formal contracts for execution by the contractor.

“Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is to be noted, importantly, that formal requests for quotes were issued to these contractors outlining the bills of quantities, and the performance requirements. Further, letters of quotation and the ministry’s acceptance thereof forms a binding contract between the ministry and the contractor as prescribed in the GOJ’s standard bidding documents. This would provide the ministry with some recourse for poor or non-performance of the works,” the health ministry said.

The audit was undertaken in May 2020, two months after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Jamaica. Monroe Ellis said the exercise was undertaken in order to provide guidance as well as to identify any missteps to give the Ministry of Health and Wellness and other ministries an opportunity to address the concerns of deficiencies highlighted.

The health ministry had received more than $8 billion to address the COVID-19 emergency.