Integrity Commission issues advisory to Government Ministers not to accept personal benefits from agencies under their portfolio

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica’s Labour and Social Security Minister Karl Samuda has been cleared of charges of impropriety, regarding accusations that he used his influence to receive a personal benefit from an agency under his stewardship.

The Integrity Commission cleared Samuda, having carried out an investigation which was started on May 17, 2017 by the then Office of the Contractor General, which is now a part of the commission.

The allegations are that inter alia in April 2016, while he was minister of industry, commerce, agriculture and fisheries (MICAF), Samuda influenced the Jamaica Dairy Development Board (JDDB) to establish a 15-acre demonstration plot of Mombasa dairy feeding grass on his personal property in Knollis, St Catherine.

Notwithstanding its finding of no criminal conduct on the part of Samuda, the Director of Investigations at the Commission, Kevon A. Stephenson, found the long serving politician’s “conduct in accepting the referenced benefit, ethically reprehensible”.

Action could be taken against Samuda

As such, and given his current position in Cabinet and as a Member of Parliament, Stephenson in an 80-page report tabled in Parliament this week is recommending to Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Speaker of the House of Representatives Marisa Dalrymple Philibert that they “take such action as may be necessary and sufficient to acknowledge this and assure the public that such conduct is unacceptable”.

The commission also cleared Samuda of another allegation, which was levelled against him regarding the grant of a Milk Powder Importation Permit to Wisynco Group Limited, which was initially rejected by him and the JDDB.

Regarding the establishment of a demonstration plot of Mombasa Grass on Samuda’s property in Knollis, the commission found that, in April 2017, the JDDB cultivated approximately 14.2 acres of the grass on the property sanctioned by Samuda himself and Chief Technical Director at the JDDB, Byron Lawrence.

According to the 80-page report, “the DI (Director of Investigations) further concludes that the establishment of a 14.2-acre plot of Mombasa grass by the JDDB on property owned by the Minister clearly constituted a personal benefit to him”.

The DI further concluded that Samuda’s acceptance of a personal benefit from an agency, which fell within the remit of his ministerial responsibility, gave rise to an actual conflict of interest, “the implications of which were not mitigated by the justifications provided by neither Lawrence nor Minister Samuda”.

The DI concluded that the JDDB failed to provide information regarding the process and/or procedure utilised in the selection of candidates to receive assistance in the form of Mombasa. It was concluded that the amount of $546,000, which was paid by Samuda subsequent to the controversy brewing, was the aggregate value of the work executed by the JDDB on Samuda’s property but did not include the cost of the Mombasa grass seeds.

Furthermore, the other invoices for labour and equipment provided by the St Catherine Parish Office of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) were not an accurate representation of the total cost of the establishment of the demonstration plot.

Desist from accepting personal benefits

The DI recommended that ministers of government be instructed to desist from accepting personal benefits from programmes implemented by agencies for which they have ministerial responsibility or otherwise. The acceptance of such benefits creates an actual conflict of interest which undermines public trust in the fair and objective operation of agencies of the Government.

It has also been recommended that the introduction of legislation which prohibits the acceptance of benefits from resources over which a minister of government or other public official has charge. Such prohibition should be accompanied by pecuniary and/or punitive sanctions sufficient to deter this practice and punish the offenders where it occurs.

Regarding the grant of the Milk Powder Importation Permit to Wisynco Group, the DI concluded that Samuda acted in accordance with Section 27(7) (d) of the Jamaica Dairy Development Board Act, 2012 in his decision to allow an appeal made by Wisynco Group Limited and, thereafter, to direct that the matter be reconsidered by the JDDB.

It has also been concluded that, by way of letter dated April 18, 2017, the JDDB reconsidered the application submitted by Wisynco Group Limited for a licence to import milk powder and granted ‘conditional approval’ of a licence to Wisynco Group Limited, for the importation of milk powder “from a country to which the Chief Veterinary Officer has no objection”.