Damion Mitchell
and Omar Anderson, Gleaner Reporters PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson on Monday assigned a four-member committee to probe the events which led the Ministry of Commerce and Technology to wrongly accuse supermarket retailers of price gouging.
The committee members are: Information Minister Burchell Whiteman (chairman), Attorney-General A.J. Nicholson, Agri-
culture Minister Roger Clarke, and Commerce and Technology Minister Phillip Paulwell.
"We have been asked to deal with all the matters arising from the recent developments with the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) and the issues relating to retailers and claims of price gouging," Mr. Whiteman told The Gleaner yesterday.
He said the committee, which had its first meeting on Monday, is scheduled to meet again today, adding that a report is to be submitted to Cabinet next Monday. The commerce ministry has portfolio responsibility for the CAC.
Several weeks ago, the CAC said it had identified 18 suppliers which it accused of selling goods at exorbitant prices following the passage of Hurricane Ivan. Among the stores listed were the Super Plus supermarket chain and Hi-Lo Food Stores. The charge was also made by Commerce Minister Phillip Paulwell.
STRONG DENIALS
The allegation was, however, met with strong denials from store owners, who challenged the commerce ministry to provide proof. Proof, as it turned out, was never on the cards as Mr. Paulwell, in a startling example of eating crow, would later
apologise. He said based on the evidence provided, he was
convinced that a mistake had been made.
The CAC board met last Thursday and following deliberations, reprimanded CEO Dolsie Allen and accepted the resignation of Raymond Pryce, the agency's director of research, information and communication.
However, in another twist to this increasingly strange, if not, embarrassing affair, documents obtained from the CAC would seem to suggest that the office had knowingly published incorrect information about price gouging on the part of supermarket retailers. According to the documents, Mr. Pryce had been in constant dialogue with Mrs. Allen, informing her that he was uncomfortable with the methodology used to carry out surveys.
In a memorandum dated August 5, 2004, Mr. Pryce had warned that the integrity of the CAC could be compromised if fieldwork continued to be implemented in what he called an unstructured manner.
Contacted on Monday, Commerce Minister Philip Paulwell told The Gleaner that by the end of the week he should have a better idea as to how best to proceed against those responsible for the
foul-up.
Contacted yesterday, Mrs. Allen said: "I don't want to give any comment on the issue. "I'll bounce back, I'm not worried about what is out there in the public."
Mr. Pryce was unavailable for further comment last night.
