MAYOR OF Mandeville Donovan Mitchell said the Manchester Municipal Corporation is not daunted by the negative labels that have been ascribed to the corporation since three of its former employees were found guilty, following a $400-million fraud trial.
After an approximately nine-month long trial in the Manchester Parish Court, Senior Judge Ann-Marie Grainger found former superintendent of roads and works Sanja Elliott; former secretary/manager and director of finance David Harris; and former temporary works overseer Kendale Roberts guilty.
Amid what is deemed the biggest corruption scandal in local government, Mitchell said though the guilty verdict has been handed down, the system of justice in Jamaica gives defendants an opportunity to appeal.
Mitchell, who took over the reins of the corporation approximately five months after the investigations began in 2016, said he has since implemented systems to remedy the old mode of operation.
Mitchell said the corporation is audited at least twice per year and he is confident in the systems that are now in place to prevent any possible reoccurrence.
