Auditor General launches school bus probe

Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis has initiated a probe into the Ministry of Energy, Transport & Telecommunications’ (METT) $1.4-billion acquisition of 110 used school buses amid public concerns over the procurement process.

The buses were imported from the United States as part of the Government’s National Rural School Bus Programme.

Monroe Ellis said the audit is in response to numerous stakeholder representations to the Auditor General’s Department (AuGD) and media reports regarding the acquisition of 110 school buses by the METT and that a preliminary assessment was undertaken to evaluate the credibility of the claims and to determine whether there was sufficient justification to initiate a formal audit.

“The special audit was subsequently commissioned to determine whether the procurement and contracts management practices complied with the applicable laws, regulations, policies, guidelines, and guidance notes governing public procurement in Jamaica, to attain value for money,” a statement from the AuGD said.

The findings are expected to be published in the July to September quarter later this year.

On February 24, The Gleaner reported that Opposition Leader Mark Golding wrote to Monroe Ellis’ office, the Integrity Commission and the Major Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Agency, requesting an investigation into the transport ministry’s procurement of the school buses.

Golding’s July 2025 letters, copies of which The Gleaner received, stated that “apparent irregularities and other suspicious aspects relating to the procurement” of the buses had been brought to his attention.

FULL AND COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION

MOCA said “a full and comprehensive evaluation is being undertaken in order to assess the credibility, veracity, and substance of the allegations”.

Access to Information documents obtained by The Gleaner reveal that the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) warned the transport ministry against handpicking contractors even as it endorsed the billion-dollar deal for controversial used school buses last year.

The contract was awarded to ELHYDRO Limited through a single-source method based on an unsolicited proposal. There was no competitive bidding process.

In a policy pivot, Transport Minister Daryl Vaz announced that 100 new buses will now be procured in the 2026-2027 fiscal year as phase two of the programme. The original plan had been for 150, later reduced after consultations with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.

Vaz defended the acquisition, reporting that more than 80 units are operational daily despite “technological challenges” and sensitive safety mechanisms causing frequent computer-induced shutdowns.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com