Inadequate information submitted for comprehensive assessment being undertaken

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Senator Aubyn Hill, minister of industry, investment and commerce, has ordered an independent operational audit to be commissioned immediately for the National Compliance and Regulatory Authority (NCRA) and the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ).

This is the latest development in the probe into the release of a substandard shipment of rice linked to Blue Zone Limited, a company in which Cabinet Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is the sole shareholder. The NCRA authorised the release of the detained rice on July 20, 2022, the same day test results from the BSJ showed it exceeded the maximum allowed broken kernels for Grade A rice.

In a statement to the media, the ministry reports that the operational audit is to be executed immediately following proper procurement procedures of the NCRA and BSJ. This directive from Hill comes as the ministry declared “it is not yet satisfied with the adequacy of the information submitted to date and is still investigating and gathering compliance and other reports”.

Directives from preliminary review

The ministry is currently undertaking a comprehensive assessment of various matters raised in the media relating to NCRA and the BSJ, which involves the gathering of information from several entities.

Arising from its preliminary review, Hill has directed that the governance oversight for the two agencies is to be collaborative between the two boards and to be strengthened. Additionally, the BSJ has commenced an “end-to-end” internal audit of both BSJ’s testing methodology and turnaround time, and the NCRA’s sampling methodology and inspection activities.

The “end-to-end” internal audit is expected to be completed within a month and the results submitted to the ministry with recommendations for operational improvements. Further, the ministry also reports that the “NCRA Bill, which will provide for the full and legal separation of the NCRA from the BSJ, is at an advanced stage in the legislative process and remains a priority for completion by the end of the financial year. The ministry wishes to assure the members of the public that we are giving these matters priority attention and will provide a further update shortly”.

Blue Zone’s rice was imported as a Grade A milled product, the standard for which includes a maximum moisture content of 14 per cent and maximum broken kernels of 10 per cent. Sample one had 22.34 per cent breakage; sample two, 17.54 per cent and sample three was at 17.04 per cent, according to test results.

The greater the number of broken grains, the lower the quality of the product, which typically attracts a lower price than rice with higher levels of whole grains. The NCRA has reportedly hammered out a solution with Blue Zone Limited, which is now allowed to import the same product under an acceptable classification.