Totally Illogical! ... Warmington objects to Petrojam drafting own forensic audit terms

State Minister Everald Warmington has objected to an announcement by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) that the embattled oil refinery, Petrojam, drafted the terms of reference for a forensic audit at the entity.

"It is totally illogical," said Warmington, the junior minister for works in the Andrew Holness Administration.

He was speaking at this morning's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting after OPM permanent secretary Sancia Bennett Templer reported that the terms of reference for the forensic audit have been completed and submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister for review.

According to Bennett Templer, the next step is for Petrojam to use the open tender approach to select the consultant who will examine the oil losses at the refinery.

But Warmington said the terms of reference should be "taken out of the hands of Petrojam" so that the public can have confidence in the outcome.

"How can Petrojam prepare a Terms of Reference to question themselves?" asked Warmington who is also the St Catherine South West Member of Parliament.

PAC chairman Mark Golding and his colleague Opposition member Peter Bunting, described it as inappropriate for Petrojam to be involved in the crafting of the terms of reference.

"It's like a person on trial choosing their own prosecutor, judge and jury," said Golding.

"It sounds like a cover-up," shouted another Opposition Member of Parliament Fitz Jackson.

Golding suggested that the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency and the Integrity Commission should be involved in crafting the terms of reference.

In a report to Parliament last month, Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis disclosed that Petrojam reported that over the past five years, it used 1.5 million barrels of oil valuing approximately $12.8 billion during normal refinery production.

But, Monroe Ellis found that Petrojam could not account for almost half or 600,684 barrels valuing $5.2 billion.

To illustrate the magnitude of the problem, the auditor general said for the year 2013-14, Petrojam could not account for 115,793 barrels of oil and by 2017-18, it could not account for 184,951 barrels of oil for the year.

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