Regulator pressed on whether special favours granted to Tufton’s company
Published:Tuesday | January 10, 2023 | 9:53 AM
The National Compliance and Regulatory Authority (NCRA) risks Jamaicans believing special favours were granted to a Cabinet minister's company that imported substandard rice last year if there's no explanation for why the products were released, a lobby group says.
Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal (JAMP) says “in the absence of transparency” from the NCRA and its chief executive officer Dr Lorice Edwards Brown, questions of special favours would be “reasonable” surrounding the dealings with Blue Zone Limited.
Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is the sole shareholder in the company. His son Charles is the managing director and one of three directors.
Last December, The Sunday Gleaner revealed that Edwards Brown authorised the release of detained shipments of rice on July 20, the same day that test results from the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) showed that the rice exceeded the maximum allowed broken kernels for Grade A rice.
The NCRA enforces standards established by the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ).
Edwards Brown has not answered questions on why she, as head of a state entity tasked with protecting Jamaicans from substandard products, released the shipment given the unfavourable test results and without the NCRA's investigative processes being triggered.
The Aubyn Hill-led Industry Ministry, under which the NCRA and BSJ fall, has not answered questions on whether the actions of the NCRA head were acceptable.
JAMP's Executive Director Jeanette Calder has argued that more fulsome responses are needed from the NCRA and the Ministry to dispel any belief that Blue Zone benefitted from special considerations.
“By Jamaica's Corruption Prevention Act any such privilege is a crime, an act of corruption, that must be prosecuted. Equally concerning is the damage the mere perception brings to the government agency, the CEO, Blue Zone Ltd and the country,” she said.
Calder added: “We often overlook that the global measurement of each country is the level of the perception of corruption not the actual. The ministry therefore has a duty of care to ensure the current gaps in information are filled and the people of Jamaica are satisfied that there was no preferential assessment or bly given.”
The JAMP head also said an independent assessment by the Integrity Commission is also warranted.
The Integrity Commission, Jamaica's main anti-corruption body, acknowledged receiving a package on the issue in September. By law, it cannot say whether it's probing the matter.
Questions were sent to Edwards Brown on December 9, and the ministry was asked for its views on December 12.
Meanwhile, Dr Tufton has said he has not been involved in the operations of Blue Zone.
“I am neither an officer nor a director,” he said last December when asked whether he was aware of the matter or played a role in its resolution.
Charles, meanwhile, confirmed that the situation with Blue Zone's rice was resolved after the “intervention” of the NCRA boss, the circumstances of which remain unclear.
The NCRA reportedly hammered out a solution with Blue Zone, which is now allowed to import the same rice product under an acceptable classification.
Following The Gleaner's probe, the Industry Ministry announced a “comprehensive review” of Jamaica's rice importation regime. A timeline for completion was not given.
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