The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today heavily condemned Joylyn Nestor-Burrowes, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Legal Affairs, for engaging in rubber stamping practices that violated the nation’s procurement laws. This was especially the case for a contract that was awarded by the Ministerial Tender Board in June 2019.
During the PAC’s statutory meeting, Nestor-Burrowes faced critical questions regarding an $850,000 contract for electrical works awarded to a local refrigeration and air-conditioning company that was summoned for review after several notable discrepancies. Among these was the fact that the Permanent Secretary gave the contractor the green light to proceed with the project in May, but a contract for the works was not signed until July 2019, a significant time after the contract was awarded.
Additionally, the company was paid for the work before the contract was signed. The committee also demanded to know who authorized the payment to the company as well as how the works were executed without a contract, which would outline the scope of works. However, no concrete answer was given.
Notably, members from the government and opposition criticized her for using her position to sidestep the procurement process. During the hearing, Minister of Public Works, Juan Eghill and Opposition Member of Parliament (MP),Ganesh Mahipaul reprimanded Nestor-Burrowes for previously misleading the PAC when she claimed she was not present during the contract award.
Mahipaul also pointed out that her actions breached both the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act and the Procurement Act. “Those are actions that we cannot tolerate for the simple reason (that) it can be a precedent for other jobs or other contracts that are of greater magnitude or have more complexities,”Mahipaul said.
While admitting her wrongdoing, the Permanent Secretary noted that something like this had never happened before during her tenure and gave reassurance that it would not happen again. She also claimed that the only reason why the works were executed without a contract was to “prevent the disruption” of the ministry’s work.
Despite apologizing to the committee, the Permanent Secretary seemed uncomfortable with the tone and amount of heavy criticisms that followed. She said, “It is human to err and it is divine to forgive. Sometimes I think we need to be more professional and not treat us like criminals. Treat us with some respect man.” She also claimed that she had been a public servant for 35 years and felt attacked by the committee members.
The Chairman of the PAC, Jermaine Figueira, thanked her for her decades of service but made it clear that the committee would not tolerate accounting officers using their positions to rubber-stamp the system.
This publication understands that Nestor-Burrowes initiated her retirement plan on April 1, 2023.
