( L - R ) Clarke and Christie

The Office of the Contractor General has found that a company owned by chairperson of the Petroleum Company of Jamaica (PETCOM), Barbara Clarke, benefited from contracts it awarded.

In his report, tabled in Parliament yesterday, Contractor General Greg Christie said Mrs. Clarke, in her role as chairperson, had the capacity to influence and may have influenced the award of contracts to her business, Elegant Traders.

The findings of the Contractor General followed an investigation conducted in September.

In his report, the Contractor General cited several breaches in PETCOM's process for the award of contracts to Elegant Traders Ltd.

It found that there was no indication of the procurement method used to obtain training for service station and LPG Plant attendants in 2005 and 2006. Also, the listed contract values - $2,196,352 in 2005 and $388,728 in 2006 - differed from the amounts recorded in the 'Analysis of Training Account'.

According to the report, the Analysis of Training Account showed that the amount awarded for training services in 2005 was $2,964,717.50, while the total amount awarded up to August was $335,928.

Promotional contracts

The Contractor General also found that Elegant Traders benefited from two promotional contracts - totalling $1,992,967 - awarded by PETCOM to supply promotional material in 2004 and 2005 .

The report noted that the investigation led to several breaches in PETCOM's procurement and contract awarding processes.

The Contractor General cited the omission of the requirement for works, contractors, goods and services suppliers to submit the necessary certificates.

In addition, it said the award of some contracts was not registered with the National Contracts Commission.

The investigation also found that contracts over $4 million had not been submitted to the National Contracts Commission for approval.

The Contractor General found that PETCOM did not put several works, goods and services contracts valued at over $250,000, to tender.

Meanwhile, Mr. Christie said that, despite steps by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) to implement recommendations in a June 2005 Contractor General's report, the agency continues to breach Government procurement guidelines.

He pointed out that 51 contracts totalling $37 million were awarded to four contractors without the approval of the NSWMA Board and, in some instances, without the endorsement of the National Contracts Commission.