Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Daryl Vaz, has taken note of findings from the Auditor General concerning an alleged procurement breach related to Starlink devices, which were obtained after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica and destroyed connectivity across several sections of the island.

Minister Vaz expressed strong rejection of any suggestion of wrongdoing and provided justification for his actions.

“Let me first outline the context in which the devices were procured. It must be noted that in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, catastrophic damage was wrought upon the physical and digital infrastructure networks across Jamaica. Connectivity was lost in several parishes in western Jamaica, and hundreds of messages were being passed on to government ministers and agencies from people in desperate need to communicate with their loved ones.”

Vaz outlined the Auditor General’s claim that his “involvement breached Section 20 of the Public Procurement Act, 2015, which assigns sole responsibility for procurement activities to the head of the procuring entity” is both uninformed and grossly inaccurate.

“It must be noted that all actions taken were in keeping with the Guidance Note on the Acquisition of Goods, Services and Works in the Situation of Emergency or Extreme Urgency issued by the Office of Public Procurement Policy,” the minister said.

Vaz said in keeping with the Guidance Note, there can be no doubt that the “Requirements for Employing Emergency Procurement Procedures” were satisfied.

“These requirements are a genuine situation of emergency or urgency and the necessity of the procurement activity. The guidelines further state that, subject to fiscal responsibility considerations, procurements in situations of emergency or extreme urgency may be approved by the head of a procuring entity, regardless of the value and the method of procurement utilised,” the minister added.

Vaz noted that as the ministry sought to respond in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, the only reliable source of connectivity was through Starlink. “As a result, the demand for the devices increased and quickly depleted the local supply. Households, businesses, government services, emergency services, disaster response teams, the security forces, the financial sector, local representatives, and many others were all in need of the devices at the same time.”

He said that even the telecoms sector was being boosted through the assistance of Starlink. Jamaica also received a donation of devices for emergency response, but this donation, the minister said, was quickly depleted, with the demand for more simultaneously increasing.

“The procurement of the devices was a result of the emergency situation, which we found ourselves in during the initial stages of the rescue and recovery process and the demand for telecommunication and connectivity in the worst-affected parishes. The communication void was a critical impediment to relief response, and an immediate solution was vital.

“Acting in my capacity as Co-Chair of the Relief and Recovery Oversight Committee, I took a decision that ensured that the Government was able to secure the available devices quickly and have them distributed to the relevant state agencies and recovery teams in the quickest possible manner,” Vaz concluded.