Council changes purchasing policy By Angelo Laurence,
Freelance Writer
THE MANCHESTER Parish Council has tightened the procedures for the purchase of goods and services from commercial entities. The new system is being implemented especially in relation to the purchase of material to assist the indigent with housing, following the recent controversy between the Parish Council and Member of Parliament for North East Manchester, Audley Shaw. Mr. Shaw, who is also chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, was criticised after funds from his Indigent Housing/Social and Economic Support (SESP) fund were used to purchase material at his hardware store in Christiana to assist one of his constituents earlier this year. The Pa-rish Council complained that there was no prior appro-val for the purchase to be made at Mr. Shaw's store. Mr. Shaw however denied any wrongdoing pointing out that on several occasions he had obtained the required permission from Parliament to do business with the Council. He told The Gleaner when the issue first surfaced less than $100,000 of the $1 million allocated to him to help the indigent was spent at his hardware store. Mr. Shaw eventually wrote to the Auditor-General requesting an investigation and at a press conference on Friday, June 29, copies of the Auditor-General's report was released. It absolved Mr. Shaw of wrongdoing in the selection of beneficiaries. The report said: "examination of the documents for assistance provided to indigents under Mr. Shaw's allocation suggested that the established procedures for the selection of beneficiaries were followed." The report, however, said that there was no evidence that competitive price quotations were obtained in the purchasing of the goods as required under Section 20(1) of the parochial rates and finances rules. In the case of Mr. Shaw charging goods totalling $5,000 at his hardware store to assist one of his constituents for which payment was made in January of this year, the report said he did so in breach of the rules and procedures governing such purchases which require approval of the Parish Council before they are made. Mandeville Mayor, Horace Williams, who is also chairman of the Parish Council told The Gleaner that although he believes Mr. Shaw's intentions were good, that did not exclude him from following the proper procedures in these matters.
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