Last Tuesday Prime Minister P.J. Patterson responded to questions posed by Jamaica Labour Party MP Andrew Holness in the House. Below are excerpts of the Prime Minister's responses.
Question: Will the Prime Minister state whether or not the Government or the Cabinet specifically commissioned a report by Dr. Kenneth Rattray Q.C., Advisor and Consultant to the Cabinet to assess the culpability of the former Minister of Water and Housing arising from the Angus Report?
Answer : Immediately I receive the Angus Report, I summoned a meeting of the Financial Secretary, the Cabinet Secretary and Dr. Kenneth Rattray, as Special Adviser and Consultant to the Cabinet Office, to analyse the findings and recommendations of the Angus Report so as to be properly advised on whatever required action would be appropriate.
On April 11, 2002, I further directed the Cabinet Secretary to send copies of the Report to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Commissioner of Police and the Auditor-General to investigate the relevant areas of concern mentioned by the Angus Report, as well as such other matters as their own investigations might reveal.
By way of Parliamentary courtesy, copies were sent to the Leader of the Opposition and the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.
The Report had expressed the view that the extent of Ministerial influence was "troubling". It therefore became necessary for the Report to be thoroughly examined in order to properly assess the role of the former Minister, having regard to the period of his tenure in the Housing portfolio and his unique as Corporation Sole by virtue of the Housing Act.
Soon after he obtained his copy of the Angus Report, Dr. Blythe conveyed to me his strong objections to portions of the Report and sought to repudiate any suggestions of undue Ministerial influence.
To avoid any accusation of obstructing the process of forensic audits and investigations, he tendered his resignation from the Cabinet with immediate effect.
From the very outset, Dr. Blythe stated his intention to clear his name of any allegation of corruption or improper Ministerial conduct, which is a right that cannot be denied to any holder of public office in a Parliamentary democracy.
In order to fully execute this resolve, it was necessary for him to seek recourse to relevant Cabinet documents. His request to me and the requisite conditions for granting this, when combined with my earlier reference to the senior officials mentioned above, resulted in the assessment by Dr. Rattray.
Question: Such a report exists and has been circulated and publicised. The contents of the report essentially review the Angus Commission in relation to the culpability of the former Minister of Water and Housing. Will the Prime Minister say whether or not he is aware of this report?
Answer: I am so aware.
The House should be reminded that the Special Investigative Commission to probe the operations of the National Housing Development Corporation and Operation Pride was established by Prime Ministerial directive.
In making his assessment, Dr. Rattray "had the benefit of access to additional documents not contained in the Commission's report." He recognised "That in accordance with the normal Constitutional provisions, that no Minister would be expected to deal with the day-to-day running of Operation Pride, but is required to exercise sufficient direction and control to ensure implementation."
He opined: "But there is an additional dimension to matters relating to Operation Pride and that is that most of the lands falling within Operation Pride are vested in the Minister responsible for Housing under the Housing Act. Under the Housing Act the Minister responsible for Housing is a Corporation Sole with the capacity to acquire, hold and dispose of land and other property. Specific powers are conferred on the Minister relating to the preparation and approval of housing schemes, so that there are certain statutory responsibilities falling on the Minister by virtue of the Housing Act which require his approval for particulars to be contained in schemes, including the estimated cost of the schemes and the receipts expected to be derived from sales."
Question:Will the Prime Minister say whether or not such a report was considered by the Government or the Cabinet specifically?
Answer: Yes. Both the recommendations of the Angus Report and the Rattray review have been considered by the Cabinet in order to implement the recommendations of the Special Investigative Commission.
Question:: If the answer to Question 1 is yes, will the Prime Minister state why the review of the Angus Commission was undertaken and the terms of reference given to the reviewer?
Answer : Please see Answer to Question 1.
Members of the House should be reminded that in cases of Tribunals constituted by Statute, there is an inherent right of access by an affected party, to judicial review by way of an application for the issue of the suitable prerogative writ.
This recourse was not available to Dr. Blythe, having regard to the establishment of the Special Investigative Commission mentioned in the answer to Question 2. But this should not preclude the basic right of anyone whose actions have been the subject of adverse comments to seek all appropriate means to vindicate his actions.
Question: If the answer to Question 3 is yes, will the Prime Minister state the outcome of the consideration of the review?
Answer: The Angus Report, in accordance with its Terms of Reference, submitted a report which pinpointed certain weaknesses in the management and control of Operation Pride projects. It made a number of valuable recommendations to ensure "Greater measures or accountability to enhancing the integrity of the system", in respect to those deficiencies which it identified.
The Rattray Examination revealed that there was no Ministerial misconduct or any act of personal impropriety by the former Minister of Housing in the execution of his responsibilities under the Constitution, or the discharge of his statutory responsibilities as Corporation Sole.
With this conclusion, I concur.
The following decisions have been taken by the Cabinet:
I. The Cabinet confirmed my earlier expression of profound appreciation to all the members of the Special Investigative Commis-sion for the speed and earnest application with which they undertook the assignment and for the contribution which their report could make to the process of enhancing our system of governance.
II. It endorsed the findings of the Commission that "The concept of Operation Pride has significant merit and programmes based thereon can be successfully implemented."
III. It further accepted that "The Independent Consultations' Report was not a reliable basis for determining the extent of the over-runs and that the "conclusions reached were apparently designed to create sensationalism... and unworthy of Consultants engaged in such a project."
IV. Prior to the Angus Report, the Cabinet had already decided to make substantial changes in the system of awarding contracts to ensure prudent expenditure. This decision was reconfirmed.
All contracts for Operation Pride are now subject to normal Govern-ment procedures for procurement and awards.
V. The Cabinet has accepted the recommendations that require the addition of a Social Economic Market Survey to the site identification criteria previously stipulated by the Cabinet.
VI. It has also accepted the recommendations pertaining to design selection, the fullest involvement of the Provident Societies in the selection of beneficiaries.
VII. NHDC's Board of Directors has been constituted in accordance with the composition recommended by law for the benefit of expertise in the areas mentioned. A representative from the Ministry of Finance and Planning has now been included on the Board.
VIII. The Cabinet decided that a Ministry Paper should be tabled in order to report to this House on the progress in implementing the recommendations of the Special Investigative Commission. This was done by Ministry Paper #83 of 2002 laid in this Honourable House on December 17th.
I draw direct attention to paragraph 3 of the said Ministry Paper which reads as follows:
Recommendations of the Special Investigative Commission
"The Special Investigative Commission in its report (pp. 45-51) made ten (10) general recommendations (and a number of subsidiary ones) all of which were accepted by the Government.
It should be noted that two of the recommendations - the system of selection of beneficiaries and the system of procurement of contractor services - were endorsements of policy decisions taken by Government prior to the Report by the Investigative Commission.
Appendix II of the Ministry Paper indicates the status of the recommendations, including the two cited above. It will be noted that nearly all have been implemented and the remainder are in the process of being implemented."
IX. (a) As this is well aware, the role of the Minister of Housing on the Housing Act has been a subject of controversy from the time of its first enactment in 1969.
(b) The Minister of Housing as Corporation Sole in the Housing Act, is required to act beyond policy issues, since he is accountable and responsible and must exercise such supervision as required in the discharge of the legal powers as are conferred on him by the Act.
(c) There should be no blur in the responsibility between policy issues and administrative management. The time has come to remove any semblance of conflict.
(d) There must be no confusion as to the role of the Minister stipulated in Section 93 of the Constitution "to exercise general direction and control over the work relating to a subject or department" for which Ministerial responsibilities have been assigned and specific powers conferred on the Minister of Housing which relate to ownership of land and the preparation and transfer of housing schemes.
(e) Accordingly, Ministry Paper #83 records the issuing of drafting instructions to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel for a Bill to amend the Housing Act in order to transfer the power presently vested in the Minister as Corporation Sole to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing.
(f) The Minister of Housing will retain full responsibility for issuing policy directions.
X. In conclusion, there has been no finding in the Angus Report of corruption against the Minister or other public officer.
I am advised that the Police, under the directions of the Director of Public Prosecutions continue to pursue fraud investigations with respect to Morant Farms and St. Benedict which were in accordance with the recommendations of the Angus Report.
