Green
HAVING BEEN lashed by the Contractor General for its handling of contracts and other agreements, the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has established a procurement committee to monitor its contractual arrangements. According to head, Errol Greene, the new body will ensure that proper procedures for contracts are followed in future.
Mr. Greene also said that employees have been sent on educational programmes "...so they can be again sensitised to Government's procurement guidelines and public sector guidelines."
Lascelles Ellis, the Local Government Ministry's principal financial officer, has assumed control of the authority's accounts. In addition, an expert from the Ministry of Finance has been called in to audit the NSWMA's transport department.
"We have accepted the recommendations (from reports from the Contractor General and Auditor General's departments) and are doing our best to implement them. (In fact), we have found some other shortcomings and we have taken steps to have them immediately rectified," Mr. Greene said.
APPEALS FOR PUBLIC SUPPORT
Other recommendations which have been acted on, include the separation of the offices of chairman and executive director.
Mr. Greene appealed to the public for its support. "We can only ask for the cooperation of the Jamaican people. We crave their understanding. Yes, we will admit that some mistakes were made, but we ask that they just try and understand as we move along and chart a different course."
Mr. Greene told The Sunday Gleaner that he was aware of the perceptions that corruption and cronyism were rife, which included the notion that politicians pulled the strings at the agency, he would be taking on the task to restore the NSWMA to pure professionalism.
"If I have to deal with politicians, I will deal with them. If I have to deal with other persons of unsavoury character in carrying out my work, then it is something that I will have to do, but, I will maintain my professionalism. The day that I find myself in a position where that is being compromised is the day I leave this job for somebody else to take it over," stressed Mr. Greene.
