The prison service plans to streamline the way it buys food for inmates to ensure it meets all the requirements of the Procurement Act without risking disruptions to prisoners’ meals.
In the recent Public Accounts Committee meeting held to consider the Auditor General’s report on government financial management, Opposition Deputy Leader Kenneth Bryan raised concerns over procurement in the Ministry of District Administration and Home Affairs.
While the ministry received a clean audit opinion for 2024, Bryan pointed out that the auditor general had identified 20 incidents of non-compliance with the Procurement Act, including three contracts for the supplying of food to the prison service totalling $1.2 million.
Compliance failure
He said that these and other violations “represent a clear failure to comply with the statutory procurement requirements and raises concerns about the transparency and accountability of the ministry and its process for procurements.”
In response, Michael Ebanks, chief officer at the Ministry of District Administration and Home Affairs who was appearing before the committee, said that the supply and distribution of food within the prison service was one of “operational necessity,” adding that if the food supply is interrupted then “it may well escalate to a security issue.”
He explained that to make sure that this didn’t happen, the prison service used three main suppliers so they would always be sure of the required items. Due to a lack of storage at the prisons themselves, food purchasing was an ongoing activity which could be impacted by the number of prisoners at any one time.
However, he did say that, moving forward, the prison service is working with the Central Procurement Office to be able to tender for business in a way which would comply with procurement regulations and ensure that service isn’t interrupted.
In response, Bryan said, “I do agree with you … God forbid the prisoners don’t get their food; you can have a serious problem on your hands.”
Deficit forecast
Bryan also raised concerns about the fact the ministry recorded a deficit in each of the last three years, totalling almost $2.9 million, and recording a deficit in 2024 after it had budgeted to break even.
In response, Ebanks said the ministry was looking at strengthening its financial forecasts but as the nature of the work of the Ministry of Home Affairs dealt with security and public safety “the volatility of service demand can fluctuate beyond what is typically forecasted from hindsight.”
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