(Reuters) – Jamaica’s anti-corruption agency said on Thursday that the prime minister will not face any charges after investigating a potential conflict of interest around government contracts awarded to a construction company between 2006 and 2009.
In a letter to parliament, the chief of the Integrity Commission said its leadership had ruled that no changes would be brought against Prime Minister Andrew Holness for allegations he recommended contracts with Westcon Construction Limited.
They did however note that “evidence had been identified sufficient to mount charges” in two out of five areas, but “the prosecution would be hard-pressed to resist an abuse of process application with regard to undue delay.”
The Integrity Commission had earlier this week released a special 107-page report outlining it would investigate the claims against Holness, noting that two Westcon director were “known to” Holness for over 20 years and shared business links.
The prime minister’s office could not be reached for comment about the latest development that he had been cleared.
Holness said yesterday that he “strongly disagree(d) with the findings of the Integrity Commission regarding conflict of interest based on mere associations.”
He previously presided over the Ministry of Education, which awarded 10 contracts totaling almost JMD$22m ($140,000) over a two-year period to Westcon.
(Reporting by Isabel Woodford in Mexico City and Kate Chappell in Kingston; Editing by Stephen Coates)
