British Virgin Islands
The government has entered into a half-million-dollar contract with an entity referred to as ‘Premier Group’ for the configuration and implementation of a payment gateway.
According to a Cabinet most-meeting statement released yesterday, December 23, the payment gateway is expected to provide access to all government services for revenue collection.
The statement further said Cabinet waived the tender process for the $501,544 contract.
The tender process was waived on the basis of “the Government of the Virgin Islands’ pre-existing relationship with Premier Group in developing the present payment portal and familiarity with existing systems”, Cabinet stated.
The Cabinet also decided that the contract for the Premier Group be prepared by the Attorney General’s Chambers in consultation with the Director of Department of Information Technology and the Treasury Department.
The document also noted the government will save approximately $87,000 from purchasing the model of database offered by Premier Group instead of two separate ‘Oracle Database Appliance’ systems.
The group also offer flexibility in payment to the government where they will pay 20 percent of the cost this year and the remaining 80 percent in 2022.
Payment to Premier Group will be $304,432.
More
Image: pexels-cytonn-photography
Read more
Jamaica
It is not clear if Edward Gabbidon jumped or was pushed. Only a week ago, Prime Minister Andrew Holness was insisting that he had full confidence in Mr Gabbidon’s chairmanship of the Government’s cash-rich vocational training agency, HEART/NSTA Trust.
Mr Gabbidon’s resignation this week underlined not only a significant error of judgement by the prime minister when he made the appointment four years ago, but the need for greater transparency, sometimes beyond what is specifically required by law, when people are asked to become governors of public institutions, especially ones with which they do substantial business.
Further, the Gabbidon matter deepens the case for a hard look at the management and operation of HEART, which, Mr Holness conceded, is not performing in accordance with its mandate. It insists, too, on the urgent promulgation and implementation of the regulations, recently approved by Parliament, governing who, and how, appointments should be made to the boards of public entities. In other words, the 10-month delay in bringing the rules into effect should be substantially shortened and, where possible, made immediate. Indeed, Mr Holness should perhaps consider instructing his ministers to dissolve all existing boards within their portfolios and name new ones, in accordance with the requirements of the new regulations.
Mr Gabbidon, apparently, is a successful businessman. He is CEO of an IT company named SynCon Technologies. SynCon was doing business with HEART for more than a decade before Mr Gabbidon became the latter agency’s chairman in 2017. Indeed, between 2006 and earlier this year, according to information accessed by this newspaper from HEART, SynCon won $303 million worth of business from the institution from 196 contracts. Many were on the basis of limited tender.
With respect to the current imbroglio, 44 per cent of the business, by value ($136.4 million), which SynCon received from HEART came during the period of Mr Gabbidon’s tenure of chairmanship – the past four years. No one, though, has claimed that HEART did not get value for the money it spent. Mr Gabbidon insists that he always acted with integrity.
However, it emerged earlier this year, through reporting by this newspaper, that in 2019, HEART’s internal procurement committee raised concerns about a limited tender contract for which SynCon was the recommended supplier. There were conflict of interest considerations with respect to Mr Gabbidon, the committee felt, for them to raise a red flag.
The committee’s request for advice/direction from HEART’s internal lawyer, Desrine Pearson, largely elicited a treatise on whether Mr Gabbidon had adhered (which Mr Gabbidon says he did) to the agency’s policy of presenting a declaration of interests and affiliation, notwithstanding what the committee members felt about the details of information that was captured in the established format. The lawyer also suggested that in the specific case, the central question was whether SynCon had received an “unfair competitive advantage”, which required evidence that there was “some collusion between the person with responsibility for the process and the winner of the bid”.
Having concluded that, on the basis of the information presented, there was no case of a conflict of interest, Ms Pearson nonetheless quoted what HEART defines in its handbook as a conflict of interest: “A conflict of interest is where a public officer has a private or personal interest sufficient to influence, or appear to be capable of influencing, the objective exercise of his office duty.” In the event that such a situation arose, it is to be reported to the agency’s directors, via the chairman.
Appointment would have been better not made
This definition could not be intended for selective application; that is, to be adhered to by staff but not board members. In which event, judging from the number of contracts SynCon received from HEART, the interpretation of HEART’s definition of a conflict would have frequently pertained to Mr Gabbidon – at least among HEART’s staff members. Both Mr Holness and Mr Gabbidon should have been attuned to this likelihood at the time of Mr Gabbidon’s appointment to the HEART board. In the circumstances, it is one that would have been better not made or accepted. An administration heavily tainted by the perception of corruption would be expected to avoid further presumptions of cronyism.
Conversely, in a small country where talent and skills are scarce, when appointments are being made to public boards of people who do business with the agencies or enterprises of which they are being made governors, it might be useful if those relationships (and those of connected parties) are disclosed upfront. Additionally, it would also make sense for public bodies to consider establishing registries, available on their websites, of contracts entered into with board members and connected parties. This would make information more easily available to which the public is entitled and can get, though generally after enduring the bureaucratic and delaying hoops of an access to information request.
It is, however, not only the overarching governance of HEART that needs attention. What the agency stands for, what it does and how it spends taxpayers’ money needs an in-depth probe. HEART also requires a cultural overhaul.
Unlike most public institutions that depend on the finance minister for their financial well-being, HEART, financed via a three per cent payroll tax, has access to large amounts of money. It collects over $12 billion a year. Its managers, seemingly giddy with cash, do not spend it well. No one seems particularly accountable. For instance, over five fiscal years to 2018-19, HEART spent $30.5 billion training over 232,000 young people in various skills. Only 44 per cent of the cohort ‘graduated’.
There is also no clarity of where the agency stands in the government education and training systems. And frankly, after its many add-ons of recent years, the agency appears to be a mishmash without vision or direction. That needs fixing.
More
Image: pexels-rodnae-productions
Read more
Jamaica
THE Opposition says Prime Minister Andrew Holness made a bad decision in appointing Edward Gabbidon to chair the board of the Human Employment and Resource Training /National Service Training Agency (HEART/NSTA) Trust, and made it worse by expressing confidence in the now-resigned chairman in Parliament last week.
News of Gabbidon’s resignation came on Monday following questions about a conflict of interest between his technology consulting company and the Trust. The company has been doing business with the State agency for more than a decade.
Gabbidon said the company, Sycon, had adhered to all government procurement guidelines in its dealings with HEART/NSTA, and that he had not sat on the board’s subcommittee which made procurement decisions.
Yesterday, Opposition spokesman on the public service Senator Lambert Brown told the Jamaica Observer that any conflict of interest should be regarded as a red flag.
“If somebody has a conflict of interest, then don’t appoint them to that post… we should take them into account when taking decisions. Clearly in the HEART Trust case that wasn’t taken into account and now we are seeing the result of that. It was bad judgement by the prime minister in making the appointment in the first place, and worse judgement by the prime minister by going into Parliament and declaring that he has confidence in the person,” Brown stated.
In Parliament last week Holness had said he would not have appointed someone in whom he had no confidence. “I do have confidence in that person who is the chairman of HEART that if there were any conflict or connected party issues that they would have been declared to the prescribed authority; and, if he was a part of any decision-making process to be party or beneficiary to any contract that he would recuse himself from it,” Holness said.
He cautioned against weaponising conflicts of interest, saying, “Not every conflict of interest suggests corruption. In a small country like Jamaica it is almost going to be inescapable, and that is why you have these standards, that is why we have the Integrity Commission and MOCA [Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency] to investigate and dig them up.
“We have to be careful how we seem to vilify persons who enter public life to give service. We are doing everything possible to ensure that there is transparency and probity [but] we also have to increase the public’s understanding of the governance issues. One of the things we are concerned about is — if we will have people who are willing to serve — if we weaponise these things where simple things can turn out into the demonisation and destruction of people’s character and integrity. We have to be fair,” Holness argued.
He said regardless of which Administration is governing the country, the situation won’t change, as the pool of people available to serve on boards is not exclusively aligned to either political party.
“They are Jamaicans, so how we treat with these issues, there has to be a greater level of maturity [and] honesty,” the prime minister said.
In response to questions about a $5.6-million four-day planning retreat hosted by HEART/NSTA Trust at Moon Palace Hotel in Ocho Rios, St Ann, in October, Holness said that failures do not only occur at the board level, but also at the staff level, and that it is oftentimes difficult to address those due to Government’s own systems.
However, yesterday Brown argued that it is the duty of boards and supervising committees, such as human resource committees and audit committees, to make recommendations to the full board as to how matters are to be dealt with.
“No manager is above the law, and where you get into difficulty is if you take action without evidence and without giving the person a chance to respond to the allegation. So it is a cop-out for any Government, from any side, to say [it’s hard] to take action against managerial personnel for failing to fulfil their obligations…it’s not difficult.”
Asked to comment on that issue, senior trade unionist Vincent Morrison said there is no comparison between failure at the board level and at the staff level.
“I think the prime minister is totally off-cue to try to compare some of the things that happen at board levels, or presumed to be happening in the ministries,” he said, pointing to the situation at HEART.
He said in most of these situations there is an obvious lack of proper ministerial oversight, monitoring, direction, and assessment of the operations and conduct of boards.
At the same time, Morrison believes the public sector has, in fact, been better off as a result of the issues that have been coming to light at the board level.
“There is more control, there is more day-to-day examination of what is happening in the various ministries and, going forward, the public sector will be better off. The public sector has its challenges, like any other group, but you have some very good permanent secretaries who are very strong, very fair, and who are on the top of their job — right across the sector,” he insisted.
More
Image: pexels-ono-kosuki
Read more
Jamaica
EART/NSTA Trust Board Chairman Edward Gabbidon has resigned in what he has noted is a move not to allow individuals, for political gain, to use him as a distraction from the valuable work of the Trust.
Gabbidon resigned on Friday last week in a letter he sent to Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
The relationship between a company for which Gabbidon is the chief executive officer, Sycon, and the HEART/NSTA Trust, has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.
In his letter of resignation, Gabiddon noted that Sycon has been doing business with HEART for well over a decade, across successive administrations, and prior to his service as chairman of the board of the Trust.
Gabbidon said during a recent debate in Parliament, a report submitted to the PAAC was referenced and quoted a statement from a member of HEART/NSTA Trust’s legal team.
The member of the legal team was quoted as saying, “…to date I have not been furnished with a copy of a Declaration of Interest nor have I had sight of same. I am, therefore, not in a position to comment on the scope that said Declaration covers.”
Gabbidon stated in his resignation letter that that statement was subsequently used to suggest and assert that he did not declare interest in a company with which he is associated.
But he says that is false and furnished the prime minister with correspondence supporting his insistence that he did declare interest in Sycon.
According to Gabbidon, the facts are that Sycon, of which he is the chief executive officer, has been doing business with the Government of Jamaica across administrations and specifically with HEART/NSTA Trust for more than a decade on an ongoing basis. Gabbidon said, on accepting appointment to the board of HEART/NSTA Trust in 2018 out of a desire to serve his country, he fulfilled the requirement to declare affiliation and interest.
Gabbidon told Prime Minister Holness that the value of the procurements involving HEART and Sycon were below the threshold that would require board approval. He said, therefore, he would not have been called up on to make any decisions regarding contracting with the company.
Gabbidon said, too, that he was not a member of the procurement subcommittee of the board and would not have participated in any decision regarding procurement at that level.
The former HEART board chairman noted that Sycon is a 27-year-old industry leader in technology, and, in many instances, the company provides products and services for vendors that require specialised, and specific certification and training to implement.
He reiterated that the specific procurement around which a query was raised was aborted and not issued.
Gabbidon reiterated, in his resignation letter, that whenever arrangements with Sycon came up for discussion at HEART, he would recuse himself to allow the transparent examination of the issue. He, said, all procurement guidelines were adhered to by the organisation.
The former Heart/NSTA Trust chairman told the prime minister that his motivation to serve was to give back to his country and to create opportunities for young people to access training and character development.
“Looking at the bigger picture and not wanting to become a distraction from the important work that the board is undertaking at HEART/NSTA Trust, and having regard to certain changes in my personal circumstances, I wish to now advise that I will not be available to continue serving the board of the HEART/NSTA Trust,” Gabbidon told the prime minister.
The former HEART/NSTA Trust chairman said he wishes to express his gratitude for the opportunity to serve Jamaica, which he described as an invaluable expression of confidence in him.
A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said Holness thanked Gabbidon for his service to the board and Jamaica.
It also said a new chairman of the board of the HEART/NSTA Trust will be named shortly.
“A strategic review of the Trust is currently underway following the report of the Commission for the Transformation of Education report which was delivered earlier this year,” OPM said.
More
Image: pexels-thirdman
Read more
Jamaica
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has expressed confidence in Edward Gabbidon as chairman of the HEART/NSTA Trust despite a litany of controversies plaguing the institution in recent times, including allegations of conflict of interest facing the board head.
But Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding on Tuesday cautioned the prime minister, who had earlier warned against persons “weaponising” conflicts of interest and connected parties in the public sector.
According to Holness, the HEART/NSTA Trust chairman’s company had been doing business with the agency long before he was appointed chairman.
“We have to be careful how we seek to vilify persons who enter public life to give service,” Holness declared during a question-and-answer session in Parliament.
St Andrew South East Member of Parliament Julian Robinson had asked the prime minister questions regarding the spending of $5.6 million by the board of HEART/NSTA Trust to hold a retreat at the Moon Palace Jamaica Resort in Ocho Rios, St Ann, between October 7 and 10 this year.
Responding to concerns from opposition lawmakers, Holness said, “Not every conflict of interest suggests corruption. In a small country like Jamaica, it is almost going to be inescapable, and that is why you have these standards.”
The prime minister made it clear that disclosure must be made to boards and that there has to be transparency in processes.
According to Holness, when the issue arose, “What I had to check in terms of the chairman I appointed … that if there were any involvements, any conflicts or connected party issues that they would have been declared to the prescribed authority, in this case the board.”
But Golding indicated that the prime minister’s remarks about weaponising conflicts of interest were misplaced, arguing that the discussion should rather be about “excising it and bringing it to an end because it has become an epidemic”.
“PM, HEART is a strategic agency. That chairman has had issues raised. If I were you, I would remove him and install a new board,” Golding told Holness.
Manchester North West Member of Parliament Mikael Phillips, who also chairs the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), said the oversight body received correspondence from the legal department of HEART/NSTA Trust stating that it had not “been furnished with a copy of a declaration of interest or have sight of same”.
Phillips said that the prime minister should have appointed Gabbidon to another board and not HEART.
“Why appoint him as chairman of the same board of the entity (of which) he is a major supplier?” asked Phillips.
Commenting on the issue, Robinson said that he found the $5.6-million retreat expenditure excessive at a time when Jamaicans have had to “band dem belly” owing to the impact of COVID-19.
He said that HEART/NSTA Trust’s contributions had declined because employers would have cut back.
“I believe everybody has to share and show regard for the challenges that the country is going through,” said the St Andrew South East MP.
Robinson pointed out that HEART had options, noting that the agency owns the Runaway Bay HEART Academy where it trains tourism workers.
“So if you decided you want to have an off-site retreat, you could have gone there. I have been there. I sat on the HEART board. It’s a great facility. It could have been used if you wanted to go to the north coast. You could have gone to a hotel in the Corporate Area. I find it excessive.”
Robinson said the spending was symptomatic of a broader problem that had been affecting the training agency.
Listing the concerns, Robinson said: “You have a chairman who is in a conflict of interest about contracts awarded to his company. You have senior management that awarded themselves salary increases of 20, 30, 40 per cent and then had to get it retroactively approved by the Ministry of Finance, when Nigel (Clarke) is going to only give us four per cent for the public sector.”
He also said that students had completed their studies at the institution and could not get their certificates.
Robinson said further that HEART was not satisfying the interest of its external stakeholders but was inwardly focused.
“I am saying to you, Prime Minister, as the minister responsible, this institution was started by your mentor, Edward Phillip George. You have to take hold of it. The retreat is just one example, but there are many other issues and it is not fulfilling its mandate,” he said.
A breakdown of the sums spent for the retreat saw accommodation, meals and technology support costing $4.1 million. A facilitator was paid $800,000 and a strategic coach received a little more than $664,000. The prime minister said that the costs were in keeping with standard market rates.
More
Image: Pixabay-Audit
Read more
