IC requisitions divestment, PPP & acquisition activities from 12 agencies
Published:Friday | April 4, 2025 | 12:07 AM
Director of Investigations at the Integrity Commission Kevon Stephenson has asked 12 public bodies to submit to the anti-corruption body particulars of land and asset divestment, public-private partnerships, and acquisition activities.
The public bodies have a deadline of May 30, 2025, to submit the information relating to the transactions executed by them during the period July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024. The IC says this includes warrants/exemptions.
In a news release yesterday, the anti-corruption body said its initiative, which will be supported by a new web-based system, is geared at ensuring enhanced compliance, accountability and transparency in respect of land, asset divestment, public-private partnerships, and acquisition transactions carried out.
According to the IC, the data will be requisitioned biannually.
The IC said all permanent secretaries and heads of public bodies of the designated agencies are required to participate in the pilot stage of the implementation process.
Among the agencies identified to participate in the exercise are the National Land Agency, the Development Bank of Jamaica, the Urban Development Corporation, the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, SCJ Holdings Jamaica Limited, and Factories Corporation of Jamaica. In addition, the Tourism Product Development Company, the National Road Operating and Constructing Company, the Port Authority of Jamaica, the St Catherine Municipal Corporation, the National Housing Trust, and the Housing Agency of Jamaica have been asked to take part in the initiative.
The IC points out that the Policy Framework and Procedures Manual for the Divestment of Government-owned lands, 2015 defines the activity of divestment as the “disposal of an interest in land whether by lease or sale”.
Further, the Policy and Institutional Framework for the Implementation of a Public-Private Partnership Programme for the Government of Jamaica: The PPP Policy defines a public-private partnership as “a long-term procurement contract between the public and private sectors in which the proficiency of each party is focused in the designing, financing, building, and operating an infrastructure project or providing a service through the appropriate sharing of resources, risks and rewards”.
It adds that “the definition of PPP is limited to assets of high value and areas where the Government is faced with fiscal constraints and is obligated to provide the infrastructure service”.
The IC said the permanent secretaries and heads of procuring public bodies for the selected pilot agencies have been given detailed instructions on how the required data should be formulated and submitted.