During today’s meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, strongly criticized the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Protection for hiring and paying Special Constabulary Force ranks to provide security at two of the Ministry’s locations without a proper contract in place.
The committee member expressed his concern about the fact that money was paid to the constabulary for their security services, despite there being no formal contract to govern the parameters of the agreement. He questioned the former PS, Lorraine Baird, on how the sum to be paid was determined, as there was no agreement in place to specify the number of guards required, their respective ranks, the locations to be secured, and most importantly, the official authorization required for the arrangement. The PS was unable to provide a satisfactory answer, claiming that she was unaware that a contract was necessary since the Special Constabulary Force is also a government body, and that the arrangement was simply a government-to-government engagement based on invoices submitted by the constabulary.
The Minister emphasized that even though the Special Constabulary Force is a government unit, it is still necessary to have a formal contract to ensure that the provision of security services is authorized and accounted for. He pointed out that other ministries had utilized Special Constabulary ranks in the past, and contracts had always been deemed necessary.
Highlighting the importance of a formal contract, the minister stated that it serves as a safeguard against the unauthorized use of state resources. “One of the reasons why you do that is to ensure that nobody who’s not authorized to have the provision of that service is having that service that is being paid for by the state. If an officer of the Ministry is entitled to security and you’re using that there must be an authorization as part of their contract that the Permanent Secretary authorize or this advisor authorize or whatever,” he pinpointed.
Without a contract, he said, individuals can request the services of Special Constabulary ranks for personal purposes, such as securing their families, which would not be officially authorized, yet paid for by the state. Therefore, a formal contract is necessary to ensure transparency, accountability, and the proper use of state resources.
