THE MINISTRY of Finance and Planning has imposed a penalty on Yvonne Coore-Johnson, the former director of the Public Sector Modernisation Project.
Mrs. Coore-Johnson approved excess spending on the repatriation of an Australian consultant who feared travelling through the United States in 2002. However, Auditor General Adrian Strachan told Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday that the surcharge, at $2,000, was too small for the action, which led to a cost overrun of $177,000.
"There is no such authority to vary (air fare policy) and we in fact referred the matter to the Ministry of Finance," Mr. Strachan said during yesterday's sitting of the PAC.
TICKETS
According to Kirby Clarke, representing the Cabinet Office which was responsible for the now concluded project, the consultant was concerned about travelling to Australia through the United States so close to the anniversary of 9/11. Instead, he requested that airline tickets be purchased for him to travel via London, England.
"I regard it as prudent for me to travel through the slightly longer London route. I would not feel happy about travelling via the U.S.," wrote Darryn Jenkins, who was then a senior adviser for Customs, in a letter dated August 22, 2002. He was writing to project manager, Mrs. Coore-Johnson. Mrs. Clarke said that her research into the matter determined that the Attorney-General's Department had thereafter been consulted for advice.
"Their advice was that we should weigh the cost of if he goes through the United States and there is a casualty, will the Government of Jamaica be sued, against the additional cost to route him through London," she said. However, she admitted, there was no written documentation to verify the discussion.
NOT IMPRESSED
Mr. Strachan said that he was not impressed by the explanation and noted that it is standard practice that the government pays for travel by the most direct route which would have carried the consultant through Los Angeles.
"He raised personal fears. Our position is simple. He wasn't being asked to go through Sudan or Iraq," the auditor general argued.
He added: "Of course, he is entitled to his personal concerns but we felt that that should not be met at the expense of government."
