Christie probes Natalie
Published:Friday | October 22, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter
THE lens of the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) is now being focused on a million-dollar Constituency Development Fund (CDF) project in which People's National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament Natalie Neita-Headley had breached the fund's rules in 2008.
Yesterday, Contractor General Greg Christie sent letters to chairman of Parliament's CDF committee, Everald Warmington, and director of the fund's Programme Management Unit, in the Office of the Prime Minister, Moveta Monroe.
"Mr Warmington has been required by the OCG to provide to the OCG by Friday, November 5, 2010," information regarding matters dealt with in the Sunday Gleaner article.
The OCG has also asked Monroe to submit an executive summary outlining a number of issues related to the project.
Christie's request comes against the background of claims by Monroe at a CDF committee meeting that she had discussions with officers at the OCG and was told they had not visited the site of the project. Further, she said the OCG had suggested that the committee could deal with the matter relating to Neita-Headley's project.
The Gleaner had obtained copies of the minutes of the CDF meetings which were held behind closed doors for more than two years. They revealed that Neita-Headley had erred by going ahead with work on the Jew Pen Hill to Giblatore Road in her East Central St Catherine constituency without approval from the CDF unit, which operates out of the Office of the Prime Minister.
The minutes showed that the work cost $1 million more than the $300,000 the MP had available under emergency funding.
According to the minutes, Neita-Headley had accepted that she was negligent and asked the committee to look at a way forward.
The parliamentary committee later approved the project retroactively.
CDF director Moveta Monroe asked to submit:
1 a) A detailed status report of the pre- and post-contract activities for the work on the Jew Pen Hill to Giblatore Road in East Central St Catherine (including the estimate for the initial roadworks that was prepared by the implementing agency and reasons for the cost overrun).
b) A written disclosure, along with supporting documentation, as to the names of the officers of the OCG and discussions had with the said OCG officers and you regarding the suggestions on how this matter could be resolved.
Supporting documents relating to items set out in (a) and (b).
Project proposal submission from the MP regarding the emergency funding of works on the Jew Pen Hill and Giblatore Road.
a) Copy of the signed contract agreement with the contractor that executed the roadworks.
b) Copies of all parliamentary committee meeting minutes pertaining to the said project from inception to completion.
c) A copy of all site reports prepared by the CDF.
d) A copy of all payment certificates, vouchers and invoices issued and/or approved for payment by the implementing agency and the CDF and all submissions/correspondence regarding claims for variation by the MP.