Edmond Campbell, Senior News Coordinator

Opposition Leader Bruce Golding yesterday challenged claims by the Ministry of Local Government and Environment that parish councils had breached Government's contract procedures by approving contracts valued at less than $250,000 without going to competitive tender.

Golding was responding to an audit report into the operations of a number of parish councils, which revealed infringements of procurement guidelines as well as financial irregularities at the St. Catherine Parish Council. The other councils audited include St. Mary, Westmoreland, St. Ann and St. James.

The Opposition Leader quoted, in Parliament, from a Cabinet submission in July 2001, which he claimed removed the previous requirement of competitive tender for contracts amounting to less than $250,000.

"Cabinet by decision exempted contracts of a value below $250,000 from the competitive process and yet the ministry's internal auditor is indicting the parish councils because they fail to follow the tendering process," he said.

Mr. Golding argued that, if the guidance of the Auditor General had been sought, these "embarrassing discrepancies could have been avoided."

But Local Government Minister Dean Peart disagreed with Mr. Golding's assertion, stating that he was informed by Contractor General Greg Christie that contracts regardless of their value should be put to competitive bidding.

Meanwhile, Mr. Golding also took issue with a decision by Mr. Peart to use internal auditors from the Ministry of Local Government instead of asking the Auditor General to conduct the investigation.