Grange cleared in Integrity Commission report on $15 million Grand Gala contract

The Integrity Commission says there was no conflict of interest in the award of a $15 million Grand Gala contract awarded to cultural expert Trevor Nairne by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).

Director of Investigation Kevon Stephenson also said he has seen no evidence to indicate that Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports Minister Olivia Grange was directly involved in the procurement, award or execution of the contract. 

But the commission has criticised the JCDC for its handling of the process.  

An Integrity Commission report on the investigation into the award of the contract to Nairne to provide artistic direction for the 2016 event was tabled in the House of Representatives yesterday.  

In April 2017, then Opposition Spokesperson on Culture, Lisa Hanna, raised the allegations publicly, claiming that the contract was awarded "lock, stock and barrel", and that there was no negotiation on the amount proposed by Nairne.  

She questioned the contract award process after pointing out that Nairne and Lenford Salmon, a senior adviser to Grange, were two of four directors of a theatre production company known as Jambiz International Limited.  

Nairne was contracted to design costumes, choreograph performances and pay assistants - all of which Hanna said could have been done by the JCDC. 

Grange had blasted Hanna for her claims and insisted that she was not aware of the contract.  

But in its report, the Integrity Commission said Nairne did submit an unsolicited proposal in May 2016 which the JCDC board approved in June that year.  

The Director of Investigations said the payment of 50 per cent of the contract value on the same day an invoice for the full value was submitted was in keeping with the terms of the duly executed contract.  

But the JCDC has been criticised for how it handled aspects of the procurement process.  

The commission said the accounting officer breached the government's Handbook of Public Sector Procurement Procedures by failing to observe 'other guidelines' or industry practice, or to develop internal procedures to guide the procurement of Nairne's services.  

The accounting officer also breached the then Contractor-General's Act as the JCDC failed to report a contract whose value triggered mandatory reporting to the then Office of the Contractor General, the commission said.  

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com