Former UHWI board chairman Chai Chong ready to face PAC

Former University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) board chairman Wayne Chai Chong, who alerted the country to alleged procurement breaches in 2023, says he is ready to face Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

“I would accept the invitation if I'm asked,” Chai Chong told The Gleaner on Tuesday after the committee approved the move on Tuesday.

PAC Chairman Julian Robinson said the committee will formally write to Chai Chong, current CEO Fitzgerald Mitchell, and former CEO Kevin Allen inviting them to appear before lawmakers at the next meeting on April 28.

The Jamaica Customs Agency has also been summoned.

Mitchell told The Gleaner on Wednesday morning that he had "not received any communication from the Parliament of Jamaica".

"That's for further thoughts," he said when asked if he would accept the PAC's invitation.

After the audit report was released in January, the hospital announced that Mitchell went on three months' leave to facilitate an independent investigation at the region's premier teaching hospital.

The Gleaner has sought a response from Allen.

The PAC's decision comes as lawmakers intensify efforts to obtain critical information linked to findings in an Auditor General’s Department report.

That report found that UHWI awarded $521 million in contracts without essential procurement documentation, and identified systemic breaches of government procurement guidelines, including unapproved contract variations and missing records.

The audit also cited after-the-fact bidding and the alleged misuse of tax exemptions to import goods for four private companies — JACDEN Group of Companies, Supreme Laundry Services, Scientific Medical Services, and Willman Sales Company Limited.

JACDEN is led by MP Dennis Gordon of the Opposition People's National Party.

The report, released in January, made no adverse findings against Mitchell, Allen, or Chai Chong.

“From the first meeting that we had two weeks ago it is apparent to me that the current management of the university hospital is not in a position to answer many of the questions that we have related to the operations of the university hospital,” Robinson said during UHWI’s second appearance before the committee on Tuesday.

Chai Chong, who served from November 2022 to December 2023 when he resigned, had previously defended his tenure, arguing that his "brave" board sought to implement reforms aimed at strengthening governance and operational efficiency at the institution.

In a statement issued after his resignation, he pointed to longstanding internal weaknesses, including alleged procurement irregularities, suspected payroll fraud that led to arrests, and major deficiencies in billing and collections, where more than 30 per cent of potential revenue was either written off or not collected.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, who dissolved the board after Chai Chong's departure, cited “a clash of personalities and dysfunctionality” among the reasons for the move.

Chai Chong, however, insisted the disagreements were over his board’s attempt at reform, including hiring a top-tier professional from abroad as CEO. He also said Tufton overruled a board decision to replace Mitchell as acting CEO with another senior official.

Last week, Tufton said the issues at UHWI reflect “long legacies” and a “dysfunctional culture within the university system.”

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