THE MINISTRY of Justice yesterday dismissed reports on Sunday that Minister A.J. Nicholson had referred to any "corruption" or "fraud" last Saturday in Trelawny where he addressed members of the Cornwall Bar Association and the Northern Bar Association.
A press release from the Ministry said the Minister told the gathering of lawyers that "an internal audit which was conducted into the running of the Legal Aid office revealed significant irregularities such as overpayment, absence of financial management and accounting systems, breaches of general accepted accounting standards, and poor management practices generally."
According to the release, the matter is now in the hands of the Auditor-General who will conduct his own investigations and make his findings known to Parliament. It added that issues of fraud or corruption are not matters within the province of the Minister of Justice, but are squarely within the competence and purview of the Auditor-General who is required under the Constitution to act on behalf of the Government of Jamaica.
At the meeting last Saturday with the lawyers at Glistening Waters in Trelawny last Saturday, Mr. Nicholson said the Legal Aid office was audited and revealed irregularities such as over-payments and double payments. In some cases, the Minister said a lawyer will be paid in one month and in two months time would be paid again for the same case.
