McLean need not recuse self in ministry probe – Gov’t

THE HOLNESS administration has played down concerns that acting Permanent Secretary Dr Grace McLean’s authority in the education ministry poses a conflict of interest to the ongoing investigation of programmes for which she held responsibilities.

But the parliamentary Opposition is insisting that the Government must make it clear to Jamaicans that McLean will have no role in the provision of responses to auditors.

On April 19, Education Minister Fayval Williams announced that she had asked the Auditor General’s Department to expand a probe of the ministry to include the Career Advancement Programme (CAP) and the Centre of Occupational Studies (COS) following revelations from a Gleaner investigation.

During her tenure as chief education officer ( 2009-2019), McLean held responsibilities for CAP and COS, which themselves had partnerships with the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education (JTCE) and the Cecil Cornwall-led Western Hospitality Institute (WHI) – two entities facing the auditor general’s scrutiny.

Although the programmes were led by directors, McLean did not have a hands-off approach, playing a crucial role in decisionmaking, including attending routine meetings up to the time she became acting permanent secretary in February 2019.

“Those directors were administrators who took instructions from the chief education officer. They were programme directors, not divisional directors. Only the chief made decisions on things like costing and expenditures,” said an official of the ministry not authorised to speak on the matter.

As acting permanent secretary and the ministry’s chief accounting officer, McLean will have to oversee and approve the ministry’s response to whatever findings emerge from the auditor general’s investigation of the initiatives and partnerships she controlled.

Junior Education Minister Robert Morgan, to whom Williams deferred on Wednesday when the question about a potential for conflicts of interest was raised, said the query was “treading along a very dangerous ground”.

He argued during a post-Cabinet press briefing that the Government could open itself to a lawsuit if the suggestion is that McLean be asked to recuse herself on the basis “of an accusation not yet borne out in fact”.

Morgan said the ministry is “very committed” to probity, transparency, and accountability, which is why, he added, Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis was called in after the Gleaner report.

However, Opposition Spokesperson on Education Dr Angela Brown Burke isn’t satisfied, arguing that “it would be a very untidy situation for her (McLean) to oversee the ministry’s response to programmes she has managed”.

“I am sure the person leading would need to speak with those who had responsibilities for the programmes. She cannot report to herself. The Jamaican taxpayers deserve the greatest transparency in this matter,” Brown Burke said in a statement.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica said the ministry should consult with the auditor general to address concerns about the audit’s independence.

Before a restructuring exercise last year, CAP and COS were the Government’s multibillion-dollar flagship prorgammes developed to provide certification in vocational areas, such as hospitality, to thousands of children who left grade 11 without qualifications.