Kern Spencer, Former Jamaican Junior Energy Minister, Charged!

Former PNP State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce, Kern Spencer, who has been at the centre of the Cuban Light Bulb Scandal, here in Jamaica, was charged by the police, today.

He was charged along with his Personal Assistant Coleen Wright (also supervisor in the former Ministry) and Rodney Chin, Managing Director of Universal Management and Development Company and Caribbean Media Communication Network Ltd., two companies that provided services under the Project.

Today represents day three (3) of Mr. Spencer's questioning by members of the Organized Crime Investigation Division (OCID) of the Jamaican Police Force.

[This is big news in Jamaica, as this is the first time in eighteen(18) years, that a Minister of Government has been charged by the police. (The last person to be charged was former JLP-Minister, J.A.G. Smith, in 1990.)]

Mr. Spencer was charged for seven(7) offenses namely:

1) Conspiracy to Defraud

2) Offenses under The Proceeds of Crime Act

3) Offense under The Corruption Prevention Act, specifically:

a) Receiving 3.1 million from Rodney Chin

4) Three(3) Charges under The Money Laundering Act

Rodney Chin was charged for:

1) Two counts of Conspiracy to Defraud

2) One charge under The Corruption Prevention Act

3) An Offense under the Money Laundering Act

4) Engaging in Transactions with Criminal Property

While,Coleen Wright was charged for seven (7) offenses:

1)Two charges of Conspiracy to Defraud

2) Offenses under The Corruption Prevention Act

3) Money Laundering

All three will be held in police custody until their appearance in court on Thursday.

Short Background:

On October 23, 2007 present Minister of Mining, Energy and Telecommunications, Clive Mullings, ordered a probe into the Cuban Light Bulb Project which had gone awry and which cost Jamaican taxpayers JMD $277 million.

[The Cuban Light Bulb Project which should have seen the installation of four (4) million energy-efficient light bulbs in Jamaican homes for free (as a gift from the Cuban government) suddenly racked up a JMD $277 million dollar bill.]

On January 16, 2008, as a result of the probe, Jamaica's then Auditor General, Adrian Strachan, gave a damming report on the Project.

He told of a project which was obviously mismanaged and of nepotism by Kern Spencer, State Minister responsible for oversight of the project. (Mr. Spencer had hired his baby mother as project manager, a woman who reportedly had no project management experience.)

According to article, "No new light - Auditor General's report confirms bulb breaches, Mr. Strachan went on to describe, wide-scale breaches of Government's procurement rules in relation to registration with the National Contracts Commission (NCC), production of Tax Compliance Certificates, recommendation of NCC, Cabinet approval or use of competitive  tenders.

He the reported a general failure to comply with Government's disbursement rules in connection with the need for independent certification that goods and services paid for were properly provided. No supporting bills and invoices acknowledging receipt of funds by payees. This prevented verification that many payments made were authentic.

The Jamaican Police Fraud Squad and Department of Public Prosecution were called in to conduct further investigations.

There are 160,000 undistributed light bulbs, worth JMD $93 million, still unaccounted for.

Please see the inset YouTube Video, above, for a background to this Scandal.(We wish to acknowledge Brianmax4438, who uploaded the above video to YouTube.com.)

We at Girl With a Purpose (GWAP) Blog, will keep you informed of updates re this matter.

Sources Include:

1) Nationwide Radio: February 26, 2008

2) Television Jamaica (TVJ) Nightly News at 7:00 p.m., February 26, 2008

3) CVM TV News at 8:00 p.m., February 26,2008

4) Article, "Kern remains in hot seat: Embattled politician interrogated for a second day", by Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner, February 23, 2008

5) Article, "No new light - Auditor General's report confirms bulb breaches", Jamaica Gleaner, January 16,2008

6) Article,"Light Bulb Project Turned Over to Fraud Squad and DPP", Jamaica Information Service, November 8, 2007

Gillian